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Collection  de 
microfiches. 


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Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
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10X  14X  18X  22X 


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la  derniire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

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et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nicessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


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MISSING    LINK; 


OB, 


BIBLE-WOMEN    IN     THE    HOMES 


OF 


THE  LONDON  POOR. 


BY  L.  N.  R., 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  BOOK  AND  ITS  STORT.'» 


"  lamps  within  the  pitchers. "—Jiw/^e^  vii,  16. 
"  The  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon. "—Judges  vii,  20. 

"  But  we  have  this  treasure  in  earthen  vessels,  that' the  excellency  of  the  power 
may  be  of  God,  and  not  of  us."— 2  Cor.  iv  7. 


V 


NEW   YORK: 
ROBERT   CARTER  &    BROTHERS, 

N^.   680    BROADWAY. 

1860. 


T'~«^WPI^'*« 


P 


EDWARD  O.  JENKIN8 

l^nntfr  &  Stcrrotoper, 
No.  26  Feankfort  Strbkt. 


PREFACE. 


This  little  volume  scarcely  requires  a  preface.  The 
greater  part  of  it  has  already  had  many  readers.  Its 
publication  in  the  present  form  has  arisen  jut  of  the 
necessity  of  collecting  together  truthful  details  of 
acknowledged  interest,  which  have  been  scattered 
through  the  pages  of  a  cheap  monthly  periodical, 
called  "The  Book  and  its  Missions."  A  summary 
of  these  is  very  frequently  asked  for,  and  they  are 
here  carefully  re-arranged,  in  the  hope  that  the  bless- 
ing of  God  may  follow  them  into  a  still  wider  circle, 
and  use  them  for  the  further  extension  of  the  humble 
agency  described. 

Ever  since  the  attention  of  the  author  was  directed 
to  a  research  into  the  "  story"  of  the  Book  of  books, 
an  earnest  desire  has  been  felt  that  such  story  might 
be  told  in  places  like  St.  Giles's,  and  in  a  very  unfore- 
seen manner  this  desire  is  now  being  accomplished. 


m 


-m: 


CONTENTS. 


I.- 
II.- 

111.- 

IV.- 

V.- 

VI.- 

VIL- 

VIIL- 

IX.- 

X,- 

XI.- 

XII.- 

XIII.- 

XIV.- 

XV.- 

XVI.- 

XVII.- 

XVIII.- 

XIX.- 

XX. 

XXI. 


-THE  LONDON  IIKATIIEN  AND  TlIlilR  MISSIONARIES.. .  T 

-A  MESSAGE,  AND  THE  MESSENGER 18 

-MARIAN'S  TEA-PARTY  IN  ST.  GILES'S 89 

-SKETCHES  FROM  LIFE  IN  THE  SEVEN  DIALS 48 

-THE  BIBLK-WOMAN  AMONG  THE  DUST-HEAPS 60 

-FRESH  BEDS  FOR  THE  LONDON  POOR 74 

-A  MIDSUMMER  FETE  IN  ST.  GILES'S 88 

-CLERKENWELL  AND  THE  BIBLIC-WOMAN 91 

-BIBLE  .SELLING  IN  SPITALFIELDS 107 

-THE  WANT  OF  A  BIBLE  MISSION  IN  BETHNAL  GREEN  125 

-THE  WEAVERS  AND  THEIR  FOREFATHERS 1.39 

-REBECCA  IN  SHOREDITCH IM 

-SKETCHES    IN    LIMEHOUSE    FIELDS,    WHITE  CHAPEL 

AND  811  AD  WELL 165 

-THE  BIBLE  WOMAN  AT  LONDON  WALL 185 

-LEAVES  FROM  LIFE  IN  GRAY'S  INN  LANE 203 

-ESTHER    AND  HARRIET;    OR,  TIMES  PAST  AND  PRE3 

ENT 224 

-OUR  MORAL  WASTES  AND  THEIR  MATRONS 288 

-WESTMINSTER  AND  ITS  IHBLE  WOMEN' 2.56 

-THE  COTTAGE  AMONG  THE  DUST  HEAPS 261 

-A  PAGE   OF  FIGUKRS   FOR  BIBLE  SOCIETY  SUBSCRI- 
BERS   268 

-OUR  SUNKEN  SIXTH 279 

V 


II  "■^ 


WH 


-^ 


Vi  CONTENTS. 

XXII.— OtJR  AGENTS  AND  THEIR  SUPPORT 2SS 

APPENDIX- 
LONDON  FEMALE  BIBLE  AND  DOMESTIC  MISSIONS 

—GENERAL  RULES 297 

INSTRUCTIONS  TO  THE  BIBE-WOM/  N 297 

SUGGESTIONS  TO  PROPOSED  SUPERINTENDENTS..  29» 

COOKERY  FOR  ST.  GILES'S 801 

CHEAP  BEDS  FOB  THE  POOR 808 

NOTICE  TO  SUBSCRIBERS 803 


THE  MISSING  LINK. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  LOia)OX  HBATHEX  AND  THEIR  MISSIONARIES. 


Reader,  are  you  disposed  for  a  walk  into  one  of  the 
lowest  parts  of  London — into  a  region  which  people 
of  the  better  ok.  3  seldom  or  never  see,  unless,  indeed, 
business  carries  them  through  it  as  a  thoroughfare? 
Let  us  explore  it  by  daylight ;  and  out  of  well-known 
Oxford  street  turn  into  Wardour  street,  the  paradise 
of  antiquarians. 

We  are  not  about  to  linger,  and  indulge  our  taste 
among  quaint  old  carvings,  candelabra,  grotesque 
corbels,  and  antique  church  furniture  ;  there  are  terri- 
ble scenes  of  squalor  and  misery  to  be  found  in  some 
of  the  upper  interiors  of  these  Wardour  street  houses, 
which  present  us  with  such  pictorial  groupings  below  ; 
but  we  are  onward  bound,  to  the  left,  into  St.  Giles's 
and  the  neighborhood  of  the  Seven  Dials,  descrijed  in 
books  as  one  of  the  "  dens"  and  "  rookeries  "  of  Lon- 


8 


THL   MISSINO    LINK. 


;»?' 


don.  Novelists,  and  still  more  truly  Cit}  Missionaries 
and  Scripture  Readers,  have,  perhaps,  painted  it  in 
words  to  us  before  to-day  ;  but  now  we  are  going  to 
see  it  for  ourselves,  as  it  existed  in  the  month  of  June, 
1857,  for  "  seeing  is  believing." 

We  have  threaded  our  way  along  one  of  the  seven 
narrow  streets  to  their  centre.  A  column  formerly 
stood  upon  this  open  space  :  a  column,  surmounted 
with  sundials,  turning  a  face  towards  each  street,  and 
hence  the  place  was  named.  It  was  planned  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  I,  and  was,  for  some  time,  a  fasliion- 
able  quarter.  The  houses  multiplied  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Anne,  when  Bloomsbury  and  Bedford  squares 
were  open  heath,  and  when  Great  Russell  street  had 
gardens  noted  for  their  fragrance  behind  its  noble 
mansions,  and  the  prospect  of  pleasant  fields  in  front, 
looking  over  to  Hampstead  and  Highgate. 

But  as  these  gardens  were  built  over,  and  the  fine 
old  dilapidated  houses  were  let  out  in  rooms  to  differ- 
ent families  of  low  degree,  about  a  century  and  a  half 
ago,  this  neighborhood  fell  into  ill  odor  ;  the  column 
was  removed,  and  the  Irish,  who  had  first  colonized 
in  London  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  extended 
their  settlements  into  the  Seven  Dials,  since  which  the 
tenements  have  lapsed  into  the  possession  of  those  who 
had  no  objection  to  be  their  neighbors. 

Could  tve  endure  to  be  their  neighbors  ?    An  op- 


* 


1 


LONDON    HEATHEN    AND   THKIll   MlriSIONAUIES.  0 

prcssivo,  fu^ty  sircll  assails  us  as  wc  pass  alon^  by 
the  old-clotlics  shops  ;  wo  may  scjircoly  stop  to  road 
tho  placards  in  thoir  windows  advortisin.s:'*  tor  old  load 
and  old  iron,  old  «z;lass  and  old  bonos.  At  the  doors 
wc  encounter  the  cunning  eye  of  the  debased  and  dc- 
j^radod  son  of  Israel,  looking  out  for  customers.  Tho 
dwellers  in  the  cellars  beneath  the  shops  are  come  up 
this  afternoon  to  ))reatlie  the  air,  the  hot  and  fetid  air. 
The  "  Seven  Dials 'Seems  to  have  its  leisure  hours; 
so  the  streets  are  fdlod  witli  loiterers  and  loungers. 
Lazy,  dirty  women  are  exhibiting  to  one  anoiiior  some 
article  of  shabby  finery,  uewly  revived,  v.hicli  they 
have  just  bought ;  we  search  in  vain  among  tlie  lanky, 
sallow  children  for  a  bright  face  or  a  clean  piimfore. 
There  is  not  a  true  child-face  among  tliem  all  :  noth- 
ing speaks  of  God  or  nature  but  one  basket  of  flowers, 
with  which  a  man  happens  to  be  turning  tlie  corner  of 
the  street. 

Some  of  the  dingy  windows  of  those  upper  floors  arc 
open  ;  and  oh,  what  dirty,  haggard  forms  are  peering 
out  1  Many  a  pane  is  stuffed  with  rags,  and  all  around 
bespeaks  a  want  of  light,  and  air,  and  water — Cxod's 
free  gifts  to  the  country  hovel,  but  not  to  the  groat 
city.  We  looked  up  the  dark  courts  and  alleys  which 
had  poured  forth  those  squalid  children,  and  which 
link  the  seven  streets  together,  and  would  fain  have 
entered  them,  but  there  was  a  something  about  them 


10 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


which  seemed  to  say,  "  Seek  no  farther,  or  you  may 
never  return."  " 

A  group  of  undeniable  London  thieves  were  linger- 
ing round  the  gin-shop,  that  commonly  answered  to  its 
fellow,  at  the  entrance  and  the  exit  of  such  alleys. 
We  glanced  up  one  front  staircase,  and  in  at  the  open 
door  of  a  room,  where  the  dirt  was  thickly  caked  upon 
the  floor,  where  a  heap  of  rags  in  the  corner  was  evi- 
dently all  the  bed,  and  where  a  few  ashes  in  the  grate 
spoke  of  what  was  said  to  be  the  case,  "  no  work,"  and 
"  no  more  fire  I" 

And  this  is  day-time  in  the  Seven  Dials  ;  but  "  what 
of  the  night  ?"  If  some  who  might  be  called  industri- 
ous mechanics  should  be  found  here,  even  they — the 
parents,  with,  perhaps,  six  children — would  be  huddled 
into  a  single  apartment,  the  sitting-room  for  all,  and 
by  night  the  sleeping-place  for  all  together.  But  such 
would  be  a  favored  locality  compared  with  the  com- 
mon lodging -rooms,  where,  in  defiance  of  the  Iut'- 
each  of  the  four  corners  is  often  occupied  by  a  family  ; 
and  as  many  as  sixteen  persons, — men,  women  and 
children,  some  of  thei "  drunken  and  quarrelsome, — 
have  been  found  crowded  into  one  small  dormitorv. 
In  places  like  these,  the  "new-born,  the  fever- 
stricken,  the  dying  and  the  dead,"  as  has  V)een  too 
truly  told  us,  "  are  horribly  intermingled."  St.  Giles's 
is  tenanted  by  a  most  vagrant  population.     In  six 


LONDON    HEATHEN   AND   THEIR    MISSIONARIES.        11 


months  of  the  year  1855,  a  City  Missionary  in  Dudley 
street  kept  an  account,  wliich  showed  tliat  during  that 
period  536  families  had  left  tlie  district,  and  a  similar 
number  had  entered  it  in  their  stead.  This  same  mis- 
sionary ascertained  that  two-thirds  of  the  poverty, 
misery,  crime  and  disease  wliich  came  under  his  notice, 
were  produced  by  the  vice  of  intemperance.  More 
than  half  the  people  were  Irish,  whose  habits,  preju- 
dices and  religion  place  great  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
those  who  would  reform  them,  and  help  them  to  help 
themselves.  "  They  will  be  dirty,  and  nobody  sliall 
clean  them ;  they  will  huddle  together,  and  nobody 
shall  separate  them."  An  Irishwoman,  who  was  asked 
whether  she  did  not  feel  comfortable  when  her  old 
garments  had  been  taken  from  her,  and  when,  after 
full  ablution,  new  ones  had  been  supplied,  answered, 
"Yes,  thank  yer  honor  ;  I'm  horrid  clane  !" 

The  occupations  of  the  people  in  St.  Giles's  are 
very  various.  Besides  the  gin-palace  keepers  and  old 
clothesmen,  there  are  tailors,  hatters,  bird-stuflfers, 
dogs' -meat  men,  crossing -sweepers,  costermongers, 
street  dealers  in  fruit  and  flowers  ;  also  patterers, 
chanters,  and  song-sellers  ;  with  sweeps,  knife-grinders, 
and  door-mat  makers,  to  wliich  may  be  added  a  thick 
sprinkling  oi  professed  thieves,  and,  indeed,  of  the 
vicious  of  both  sexes. 

"Many   of    them,"   says   the    Times   of  Thursday, 


12 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


April  9th,  1857,  in  speaking  of  a  similar  district,  "  are 
the  people  who  do  the  hard  work  of  this  metropolis  ; 
who  rear  its  vast  edifices,  clean  and  pave  its  streets, 
construct  and  keep  in  order  its  innumerable  ducts  for 
water,  gas,  and  refuse.  Tliey  feed  our  hearths,  and 
minister  to  our  daily  wants.  Thoy  are  not  the  beg- 
gars, but  tlic  porters,  at  our  doors.  To  their  dirt  we 
owe  our  cleanliness ;  and  they  are  the  scapegoats  of 
a  thousand  pollutions." 

Their  numbers  are  increased  from  various  causes. 
A  new  street,  with  handsome  shops  and  noble  build- 
ings, is  desired  for  the  extension  of  trade ;  as,  for 
instance.  New  Oxford  street :  then  Dyott  street  must 
disappear,  that  the  neighborhood  may  be  improved. 
It  was  a  nest  of  vice  and  filth,  that  had  strange  old 
memories  from  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  "  when 
thick  forests  extended  from  the  village  of  St.  Giles's 
westward  towards  Tvbourne."  There  was  also  the 
great  black  forest  of  Mary-la-bonne,  into  which  the 
Queen  used  to  send  the  Muscovite  ambassador  to  hunt 
the  wild  boar. 

Yes,  .Dyott  street  must  disappear ;  but,  as  the 
stirring  w^riter  says  again  : — 

"  It  is  necessary  first  to  get  rid  of  some  hundred, 
or  even  some  thousand,  people.  So  they  are  turned 
out,  commonly  by  pick  and  crowbar,  and  no  one  asks 
where  they  go.    No  poet  immortalizes  the  deserted 


LONDON    HEATHEN   AND   THEIR   MISSIONARIES.        13 


the 

red, 
•ned 


alley  and  its  touching  traditions.  The  rubbish  wcnd:^ 
its  way,  dead  and  alive.  Carts  of  refuse  turn  down 
one  street,  and  dirty  families  another  ;  the  one  to  some 
chasm  where  rubbish  may  be  shot,  the  others  to  some 
courts  or  fallen  streets,  which  arc  henceforth  reported 
*  worse  than  they  were  before.'  It  is  rather  remark- 
able— and  it  is  but  common  justice  to  state  the  fact — 
that  the  same  state  of  things  is  found  at  this  moment 
in  all  the  other  great  cities  of  Europe.  Everywhere 
there  has  been  a  great  congestion  to  the  metropolis." 

In  the  case  of  London  especially,  this  congestion  at 
heart  would  have  been  caused  by  the  mere  increase  of 
her  Irish  poor  population.  In  1851  tlie  missionaries 
of  the  City  Mission  ascertained  that  about  one  in 
every  seven  of  the  families  under  their  visitation  was 
Irish  and  Roman  Catholic  ;  this  was  after  the  famine 
of  1846-8  had  driven  them  from  tlieir  own  shores. 
That  same  valuable  City  Mission,  in  1857,  reported  the 
number  of  Irisli  families  within  their  districts  as 
19,476,  of  which  its  agents  had  been  able  to  visit 
more  than  15,000,  comprising  80,000  individuals. 

But  the  funds  of  the  City  Mission  are  only  sufficient 
to  cover  half  the  districts  of  tlie  city  with  its  most 
useful  laborers,  who  for  the  last  four-and-twenty  years 
lave  gone,  not  "  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges," 
but  up  into  the  courts  and  the  alleys,  where  few  else 
liad  ventured  to  go,  taking  the  Gospel  to  those  who 


:P 


14 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


never  come  to  hear  it,  and  in  every  house,  garret,  and 
cellar,  beseeching  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  Their 
sphere  is  perpetually  enlarging,  for  the  population  of 
London  has  increased  by  60,000,  even  in  the  last 
twelve  months.  The  mind  groans  under  the  added 
figures  when  all  that  they  involve  is  realized.  A 
witty  speaker  once  said  "  that  when  things  came  to 
millions  he  could  not  understand  them  ;  the  word 
tripped  off  the  tongue,  but  he  only  felt  that  it  meant  a 
great  many.^* 

Reader,  have  you  walked  through  St.  Giles's  ?  Do 
you  live  in  London  ?  Have  you  relations  or  friends 
that  live  there  ?  and  do  you  feel  any  interest  in  the 
"  million-peopled  city"  for  their  sake  ?  Know,  then, 
that  St.  Giles's  is  nothing  but  the  sample  of  a  vast 
world  imvisited,  and  supposed  unvisitable,  by  the 
better  classes,  which  lies  behind  the  screen  of  their 
respectable  dwellings.  You  breathe  more  freely  as 
you  escape  into  the  neighborhood  of  the  Museum  ;  but 
henceforth,  when  you  meet  a  living  lieap  of  rags  and 
dirt  which  seems  to  have  no  business  to  cross  your 
path  aloig  the  open  square,  you  may  think  whence 
such  a  being  comes,  and  how  it  lives. 

Into  the  physical  and  spiritual  condition  of  such 
beings,  it  behoves  all  residents  in  London  at  least  to 
inquire  ;  for,  again  to  quote  the  Times : 

*'  When  Lazarus  has  done  his  day's  work,  and  be- 


LONDON   HEATHEN    AND   THEIR   MISSIONARIES.        15 


mch 
It  to 

be- 


takes  himself  to  his  sty,  he  is  a  very  iinwholesorne 
brute.  Where  he  and  his  companions  and  \m  cubs 
feed  and  litter,  the  dirt  ferments,  and  tlie  very  air  is 
envenomed.  Dr.  Letheby,  the  medical  officer  of 
health,  has  analyzed  it,  and  finds  it  cliarged  with  the 
vapors  of  death.  Nature  kindly  dissipates  it,  and, 
raising  the  poison  from  the  lair  where  it  is  generated, 
diffuses  it  to  the  dwellings  around.  Dives  is,  indeed, 
wise  in  his  generation  to  fly  o'  nights  from  such  a  foul 
proximity." 

But  if  such  be  the  physical  condition  of  hundreds  of 
thousands,  who  rank  below  the  decent  classes  in  our 
great  city,  it  is  but  typical  of  their  moral  and  spiritual 
state  ;  and,  indeed,  the  one  reacts  upon  the  other. 
Such  self-respect  as  they  have  left  is  shown  in  keeping 
themselves  out  of  sight ;  and  they  can  only  be  reached 
by  those  who  go  forth  diligently,  after  the  example 
of  their  Master,  "  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost." 

The  meetings  of  our  great  Voluntary  Societies  show 
that  more  and  more  is  being  done  in  this  way  by 
devoted  clergymen  and  ministers,  by  Scripture  read- 
ers, by  district  visitors,  and  by  lay  agency  of  a  pastor- 
al c  J  character.  Many  churches  and  cliapels  main- 
tain also  their  own  missionaries,  and  have  their  own 
home  mission  halls,  in  the  midst  of  the  courts  and 
alleys  around  them. 

A  more  recently  established,  and  apparently  a  most 


16 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


effective  agency,  is  the  now  well-known  Ragged  School, 
wl  ch  so  truly  begins  at  the  beginning  of  the  evil  ; 
inviting  the  unwashed  and  uncombed  young  Arabs  of 
the  streets  to  "  come  ragged,  come  dirty,  come  just  as 
they  are,"  to  be  taught,  first,  the  use  of  the  basin  and 
the  comb,  and  the  pleasure  of  wearing  a  clean  gar- 
ment ;  and  then  to  have  poured  into  their  young  hearts 
those  blessed  Bible  truths,  all  new  and  welcome  to 
them,  which  must  raise  them  into  a  grade  of  society 
above  their  parents,  and  will,  by  possibility,  raise 
their  parents  along  with  them. 

Still  it  must  liave  struck  many  an  earnest  heart,  in 
the  above-mentioned  class  of  workers,  that  there  were 
depths  to  which  their  efforts  never  penetrated  ;  rooms 
to  which  they  were  always  denied  admittance  ;  more- 
over, that  there  existed  home  influences  which  perpetu- 
ally defeated  all  theirs.  "  Much  was  doing  for  the 
children,  certainly  ;  but  oh  !  that  in  past  time  as  much 
had  been  done  for  the  mothers  ! " 


CHAPTER    II. 


A   MESSAGE,    AND   THE   MESSENGER. 


A  LADY,  who  had  long  been  engaged  in  promoting 
the  circulation  of  the  Word  of  God  in  country  dis- 
tricts, walked,  one  midsummer  afternoon,  about  two 
years  since,  with  a  friend  through  the  streets  of  St. 
Giles's.  The  friend  was  a  retired  physician,  who  had 
known  the  secrets  of  the  Seven  Dials  in  the  days  of 
his  early  practice.  The  lady  had  recently  become  a 
resident  in  London,  and  the  two  having  been  village 
neighbors,  this  was  a  kind  of  exploratory  walk  to  ob- 
serve the  condition  of  the  London  poor.  Meantime, 
the  question  arose,  how  far  these  people,  in  their 
countless  courts  and  alleys,  would  be  found  to  be  sup- 
plied with  the  Bible. 

This  inquiry  grew  into  a  determination  to  ascertain 
that  they  were  so  supplied,  and  led  to  a  reference  to 
one  of  the  active  missionaries  of  the  district.  He  was 
asked  if  he  knew  of  a  poor,  good  woman,  who  would 
venture  with  a  bag  of  Bibles  into  every  room,  as  a 
paid  agent  for  the  Bible  Society,  and  give  a  faithful 
account  of  her  trust. 


18 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


In  reply,  he  said  he  thought  he  happened  to  have  a 
letter  in  his  pocket  from  a  woman  who  might  be 
trained  to  this  employment — a  good,  grave  person,  of 
middle  age,  and  whom  he  had  known  for  some  years. 
She  was  a  resident  in  St.  Giles's,  and  her  letter  to  him, 
which  was  a  remarkable  one,  expressed  the  desire, 
quite  spontaneously,  to  devote  three  hours  a  day  to  the 
visitation  of  those  sorrowful  children  of  sin  whom 
none  else  would  go  near.  Of  "  that  which  she  had," 
the  treasure  of  time,  though  she  depended  on  it  for  her 
daily  bread,  dhe  was  willing  to  offer  a  portion  to  the 
Lord,  without  money  and  without  price. 

The  letter  was  as  follows  : 

"  Sir, — Aware  that  frequent  opportunities  occur  for 
verbal  communication,  you  will,  doubtless,  be  sur- 
prised at  my  addressing  this  to  you ;  but,  fearful  of 
trespassing  on  your  time  on  such  occasions,  I  have 
preferred  the  present  mode.  It  is  unnecessary  to  re- 
late the  circumstances  by  which  I  first  became  ac- 
quainted with  your  efforts  to  make  known  the  Gospel 
of  Christ ;  but  you  may  remember  the  request  I  made 
the  first  time  I  ever  addressed  you.  I  asked  you  to 
lend  me  a  Bible — you  knew  not  my  name  or  residence ; 
yet,  with  cheerful  kindness,  you  complied  with  that  re- 
quest ;  and,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  I  brought  a 
Bible  into  my  home.  It  was  on  the  11th  of  February, 
1853.     That  Bible  I  still  retain  :  of  its  influence  over 


-§ 


A    MESSAGE,    AND   THE   MESSENCJER. 


19 


have  a 
ight  be 
rson,  of 
B  years. 

to  him, 

desire, 
y  to  the 
I  whom 
le  had," 
i  for  her 

to  the 


!cur  for 
be  sur- 
-rful  of 
I  have 
to  re- 
me  ac- 
Gospel 
I  made 
you  to 
dence ; 
hat  re- 
ught  a 
jruary, 
le  over 


me  none  but  its  Great  Author  can  be  aware  ;  nor  of 
the  slow  but  certain  means  by  wliich  its  precious  truths 
have  been  revealed  to  my  hitherto  benighted  soul. 

'*  With  my  bodily  sufferings  during  that  period  you 
are,  to  a  groat  extent,  acquainted.  Twice  compelled 
to  seek  surgical  aid  in  a  hospital — to  all  appearances 
I  was  sinking  to  ray  grave ;  but  my  God  looked 
mercifully  on  me,  and  bade  me  live. 

"  You  know,  however,  nothing  of  the  wounds  that 
defied  the  surgeon's  skill — wounds  that  divine  grace 
inflicted,  and  which  divine  mercy  could  alone  have 
healed.  That  I  have  been  the  recipient  of  such  mercy 
I  humbly  dare  to  hope  ;  and,  God  helping  me,  I  have 
devoted  every  moment  of  my  life  to  prove  my  grati- 
tude. I  feel  that,  to  testify  my  thanks  for  the  pre- 
cious pardon  of  an  offended  God,  there  are  other 
ways  than  words  ;  and  I  have  thought  over  many 
plans,  all  of  which  I  have  dismissed  but  one,  which  is 
for  me  perfectly  practicable  ;  and  it  is  to  ask  your 
cooperation  in  it  that  I  presume  to  address  you. 

"During  the  time  I  was  in  the  hospital  I  had 
frequent  opportunities  of  witnessing  the  utterly  friend- 
less condition  of  many  poor  outcasts,  who  sought 
admission  to  its  charity,  the  filthy  plight  of  tlieir 
persons  and  clothing  proving  their  need  of  a  female 
hand  to  rectify  disorder. 

"  I  have  not  to  learn,  sir,  that  in  your  missionary 


20 


THK    MIHHING    LINK. 


visits  to  the  abodes  of  vice,  you  meet  with  many  such 
who  have  none  to  help  tliom.  Now,  I  would  wish  to 
dedicate  the  time  I  have  to  spare  (it  might  be  two  or 
three  hours  a  day),  not  so  much  to  the  decent  poor, 
who  have  a  claim  on  the  sympathy  of  their  neigh- 
bors, but  to  the  lost  and  degraded  of  ray  own  sex, 
whom,  from  their  vicious  lives,  no  tenderly  reared 
female  would  be  likely  to  approach  ;  but  to  me,  who, 
by  God's  mercy,  was  preserved  in  my  youth  from  a 
like  fate,  such  scenes  will  have  no  terror :  and  I  shall 
esteem  it  another  benefit  received  from  you  if  you  will 
at  any  time  let  me  know  where  such  a  sufferer  lives. 
No  matter  how  degraded  she  may  be.  It  will  be 
enough  for  her  to  require  my  aid — such  as  cleansing 
and  washing  her,  and  repairing  her  garments.  If  she 
can,  by  your  means,  obtain  admission  to  a  hospital,  I 
will,  by  frequent  visits,  take  care  that  she  has  a 
change  of  linen,  and  in  all  ways  endeavor  to  win  such 
erring  sister  back  to  virtue  and  to  peace. 

"  But  while  especially  devoting  my  services  to  those 
w'ao  have  none  to  help  them,  I  shall  ever  consider  it 
as  much  my  duty  to  render  aid  to  any  desolate  sick, 
who  may  at  any  time  come  under  your  notice. 

"Accept,  sir,  my  grateful  recollections  of  your  sym- 
pathy, to  which  I  am  so  largely  indebted  for  my  re- 
stored health,  and  allow  me  to  subscribe  myself  your 
obedient,  humble  servant,  Marian  B." 


A   MESSAGE,    AND   TIIL:    MLSSEXUEH. 


21 


fiy  such 
wisli  to 
two  or 
it  poor, 

neigh- 
,vn  sex, 

reared 
le,  who, 
from  a 

I  shall 
i^oii  will 
T  lives, 
will  be 
causing 

If  she 

?pital,  I 

has  a 

in  such 

0  those 
isider  it 
te  sick, 

ur  sym- 
'  my  re- 
If  your 


The  Missionary  felt  no  tloul>t  tliat  this  letter  was 
genuine.  lie  said  '•  it  was  like  the  writer  when  you 
knew  lier ;''  and,  after  an  introduction  iiad  taken 
place,  tiie  lady  formed  tlic  same  opinion.  Slie  felt 
convinced  that  tiiis  was  the  kind  of  person  she  sought, 
and  that,  in  carrying  the  message  fuom  Gou  to  every 
door,  various  opportunities  of  usefulness  would  arise, 
and  probably  some  of  tlio  very  kind  to  which  Chris- 
tian readiness  of  devotion  had  l)een  spontaneously 
cxi)ressed. 

The  history  of  Marian  B.  was  a  singular  one.  She 
eoi-ned  a  scanty  livelihood  in  cutting  lire-papers,  or 
moulding  wax  flowers,  or  making  bags  for  silver- 
smiths in  London  ;  and  her  lot  had  been  cast,  for 
three-and-thirty  years,  in  some  one  or  other  of  the 
purlieus  of  tlie  Seven  Dials.  A  drunken  father,  who 
broke  her  mother's  heart,  had  brought  her,  as  a  young 
girl  of  tifteen,  gradually  down,  down  from  the 
privileges  of  a  respectable  birth,  to  dwell  in  a  low 
lodging-house  of  St.  Giles's.  He  died  shortly  after- 
wards, and  left  her  and  a  sister,  of  five  years  of  age, 
orphans,  in  the  midst  of  pollution,  which  they,  as  by 
miracle,  escaped,  often  sitting  on  tlie  stairs  or  door- 
step all  night  to  avoid  what  was  to  be  seen  within. 
An  old  man,  who  was  her  fellow  lodger,  kind  hearted, 
uhough  an  Atheist,  had  taught  her  to  write  a  little, 
and  he  bade  her  never  read  the  Bible  -"  it  was  full  of 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


lies  ;  she  had  only  to  look  round  her  in  St.  Giles's, 
and  she  might  see  that  there  was  no  God !" 

She  had  picked  up  reading  and  knitting  from  gaz- 
ing in  continually  at  the  shop  windows.  She  married 
at  eighteen  years  of  age.  Her  husband  proved  sober 
and  steady,  but  he  was  as  poor  as  herself.  When  she 
went  to  church,  she  was  without  shoes  and  stockings, 
and  he  had  no  coat.  Still,  from  that  time  she  knew 
the  meaning  of  that  blessed  word — "  a  home,"  though 
such  home  was  but  a  room,  changed  from  time  to  time 
in  the  same  neighborhood. 

Five  years  before  the  time  at  which  the  lady  met 
with  her,  she  was  passing  through  the  streets  one 
rainy  night,  when  she  took  shelter  in  an  alley  that  led 
up  to  a  little  Mission-hall  in  Dudley  street,  and  hear- 
ing a  voice,  went  in  to  listen.  It  was  almost  the 
close  of  the  address  ;  but  some  verses  quoted  from  the 
eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews  struck  on  her  ear  and 
touched  her  heart.  She  knew  that  the  book  always 
used  in  such  places  must  be  a  Bible  ;  but  her  attention 
was  further  arrested  by  an  announcement  that  books 
would  be  lent  on  the  next  evening  from  that  place 
from  a  newly-formed  library  for  the  poor.  Going 
early  at  the  appointed  time,  she  was  the  first  claimant 
of  the  promise.  She  had  intended  to  borrow  "  Uncle 
Tom's  Cabin,"  but  a  strong  impulse  came  over  her 
which  she  could  not  resist ;  it  was  as  if  she  had  heard 


i 


A   MESSAdE,    AND   THE   MESSENGER. 


I 


*  'IB 


it  whispered  to  her,  "  Do  not  borrow  Uncle  Tom — 
borrow  a  Bible."    So  she  asked  for  a  IJiijlc. 

"A  Bible,  ray  good  woman?"  was  the  missionary's 
reply.  "  We  did  not  mean  to  lend  Bibles  from  this 
iii)rary  ;  but  wait,  1  will  fetch  you  one.  It  is  a  token 
for  good  that  the  Book  of  (jod,  tlio  best  of  books, 
should  be  the  first  one  asked  for,  and  lent  from  tliis 
place."  He  brought  her  the  Bible,  and  asked  if  he 
sliould  call  and  read  a  chapter  with  her.  She  said  re- 
spectfully, "  No,  sir,  tliank  you  ;  we  arc  very  quiet 
folk,  my  husband  might  not  like  it ;  I  will  take  the 
book  and  read  it  for  myself." 

The  Lord's  time  was  come.  His  message  then  first 
entered  her  house,  and  went  straight  to  her  heart. 
The  Divine  Spirit  applied  the  word  with  power,  and 
the  arrow  of  conviction  was  ere  long  driven  home  by 
suflfcring  and  affliction. 

A  twelvemonth  after  she  had  received  the  Bible, 
she  was  obliged  to  send  to  the  missionary  who  had 
lent  it  to  her,  to  request  a  ticket  for  the  hospital. 
Then  lie  visited  her,  and  found  how  God  had  worked 
witli  her  by  His  own  word,  and  had  thereby  alone 
brought  her  to  Himself. 

Two  years  of  much  sufi*ering  followed,  and  during 
this  period  her  husband  had  also  been  ill ;  so  that 
gradually,  one  by  one,  the  comforts  they  had  gathered 
round  them  by  a  frugal  life  vanished  away  under  the 


24 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


gripe  of  want.  Tlicy  were  junt  able  to  live,  and  from 
time  to  time  received  casual  and  temporary  help.  Tlie 
missionary's  visits  were  always  warmly  welcomed,  not 
for  what  lie  brought,  but  for  what  he  taught.  Sick- 
ness and  poverty  are  hard  teachers  ;  but  the  discipline 
was  all  necessary  to  a  naturally  proud  heart. 

One  evening,  in  the  winter  of  1856-7,  "  Marian" 
remembers  sitting  and  thinking  that  "  come  what 
might,  she  would  no  more,  to  relieve  present  necessity, 
pawn  her  goods,"  as  was  the  habit  of  her  neighbors. 
"  She  saw  the  evil  of  it,"  and  saw  it  so  strongly  that 
she  "  felt  she  would  want  food,  and  lire  too,"  before 
she  would  break  her  resolution,  made  in  the  strength 
of  God. 

She  received  the  offer  of  employment  in  selling 
Bibles,  feeling  that  it  was  the  work  which,  of  all 
others,  she  should  delight  to  undertake.  Another 
letter  to  the  missionary  who  had  recommended  her 
evinced  the  spirit  in  which  she  would  commence  her 
new  duties,  and  it  also  develops  her  idea  of  what  would 
come  out  of  them. 


"  Sir, — After  anxious  and  prayerful  consideration 
of  the  path  pointed  out,  I  feel  that  I  sliall  have  much 
need  of  strength  to  overcome  the  obstacles  that  will 
meet  me  on  every  side  ;  but  I  believe  with  humble 
confidence  that  the  grace  which  was  able  to  subdue  my 


I 


A   MESSAGE,    AND    THE    MESSENGER. 


25 


j> 


ible 
my 


I 


M 


own  heart  will  never  leave  me  in  my  effort  to  pour 
into  the  hearts  of  others  that  blessed  message.  1  am 
myself  too  strong  a  proof  of  the  power  of  Almighty 
God  to  dare  to  doubt  in  any  case  the  mercy  which 
broke  down  the  strongiiolds  of  sin  in  me. 

''And  if  I  foresee  trials  in  that  path,  what  sources 
of  joy  and  comfort  do  I  not  foresee  likewise  !  An  open- 
ing is  made  to  me,  which  I  never  even  dared  to  hope 
for,  and  I  may  be  sent  as  the  glad  messenger  of  light 
to  some  poor  sufferers  who  are  anxiously  wishing  for  a 
knowledge  of  the  blessed  Book,  and,  being  unable  to 
read  it,  have  none  to  read  it  to  them. 

"  What  a  sweet  employ  it  will  be  for  me  in  the 
evening,  after  having  faithfully  devoted  the  time  re- 
quired by  the  Bible  Society  for  the  sale  of  the  books 
committed  to  me,  if  I  can  retun\  to  any  poor  home 
where  I  have  seen  the  aid  of  a  friendly  hand  to  be 
needed.  The  performance  of  some  kind  office  may  be  the 
means  of  my  obtaining  permission  to  read,  and,  as  well 
as  I  can,  explain  the  glorious  truths  of  the  Book,  for 
which  in  the  morning,  perhaps,  I  had  vainly  endeavor- 
ed to  obtain  an  entrance. 

"  Indeed,  sir,  I  feel  I  cannot  write  what  I  foresee,  or 

teU  you  how  my  heart  warms  as  I  write  it.    It  appears 

tliat  God  is  graciout^ly  marking  out  a  path  for  me  in 

which  alone  I  am  fit  to  labor.     I  know  nothing  of  the 

customs  and  manners  of  the  rich  ;  I  could  not  under- 
2 


I 


26 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


take  the  most  menial  Fcrvico  in  a  gentleman's  house ; 
but  I  can  talk  to  the  poor  outcasts  among  whom  I 
dwell ;  my  deepest  sympathy  is  secured  to  them  by 
the  sad  history  of  my  own  early  days.  I  may  help  the 
poor  untended  wife  and  mother.  I  may  send  young 
children  to  school.  I  may  have  a  word  in  season  for 
the  drunken  and  even  the  infidel  husband.  It  will  be 
a  privilege  for  me  to  obtain  admission  to  those  miser- 
able homes,  and  on  what  an  errand  I — with  the  Word 
of  God  I  To  its  Author  I  look  to  direct  me  to  turn 
all  mv  opportunities  to  His  glory!  I  cast  myself  upon 
His  almighty  power  to  aid  me,  and  I  will  fear  no  evil. 
Accept  my  thanks  for  this  fresh  proof  of  your  kindness, 
and  I  beg  to  be  remembered  in  your  prayers. 
"  Your  deeply  obliged  servant, 

"  Marian." 

We  should  certainly  not  give  publicity  to  these  let- 
ters had  the  usefulness  they  foretell  been  a  mere  dream 
of  possibilities ;  but  the  history  of  the  next  year  proved 
that  God  had  prepared  this  woman  for  this  purpose, 
and  also  to  become  an  ensample  to  many  others  who 
have  risen  up  to  be  missionaries  to  the  *'  poor  outcasts 
among  whom  they  dwell  ; "  and  having  provided  the 
executive,  or  native  agency  for  the  work,  He  also  elic- 
ited the  directive,  and  suffered  it  to  lack  no  means 
necessary   to   the  development  of  His  own  design. 


^ 


■% 


dl 


^a 


A   MESSAGE,    AND   THE   MESSENGER. 


27 


I 


"  The  Lord  shall  rebuild  Jerusalem  ;  He  gathereth  to- 
gether tlic  outcasts  of  Israel." 

With  desires  expressed  as  above,  and  in  a  better 
strength  than  her  own,  this  good,  grave,  middle-aged 
woman  entered  upon  a  district  comprising  places  un- 
imaginable except  to  those  who  have  visited  them. 
She  was  allowed  her  own  choice  of  streets,  and  began 
her  work  in  Soho,  closely  bordering  on  St.  Giles's.  In 
this  district  you  may  enter  long  passages,  and  perceive 
numbers  of  rooms  on  either  side,  then  at  the  end  as- 
cend a  flight  of  stairs  into  another  long  passage,  with 
rooms  on  either  side — "  a  forest  of  rooms  " — then  cross 
a  kind  of  bridge  over  a  small  yard,  and  find,  still  fur- 
ther on,  more  galleries  and  passages,  as  if  there  had 
been  once  a  garden  to  the  first  house,  and  these  had 
been  built  out  into  it.  So  little  light  and  air  can 
penetrate  into  these  rookeries,  that  the  people  may 
well  prefer  sitting  out  on  the  curb-stone,  with  their 
feet  in  the  gutter. 

The  tenants  were  mostly  Irish — they  were  civil  to 
Marian,  even  when  made  aware  of  her  errand  as  the 
"  Bible-woman."  Many  were  tailors  hard  at  work, 
and  answered  that,  when  they  wanted  the  Bible,  the 
priest  would  get  it  for  them.  Great  numbers  of  women 
in  such  localities  were  said  to  be  "  out,"  employed  in 
making  pickles  by  Crosse  and  Blackwell. 

Some  of  her  earliest  visits  were  paid  to  courts  in 


28 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


which  no  one  professes  to  get  an  honest  maintenance, 
and  where  the  children  of  Irish  parents,  who  were 
frequently  unmarried,  have  grown  up,  half  naked  and 
buried  in  dirt,  haviug  no  knowledge  of,  or  de  ire  for, 
a  better  existence.  By  "  tossing,"  by  thieving,  by 
passing  bad  money  (for  in  Whitechapel  they  can  get  a 
shilling,  that  few  can  tell  to  be  false  coinage,  for  2|d.), 
by  every  species  of  vice,  they  live,  sometimes  in  starv- 
ing indigence,  sometimes  in  reckless  abundance  :  occa- 
sionally beefsteaks  and  potatoes  will  be  tumbled  on  to 
a  table,  with  no  accompaniment  of  plate  or  fork. 
Their  dwellings  are  like  cow-houses — save  that  cow- 
houses are  sweet  in  comparison — lighted  by  but  one 
pane  of  glass,  if  that  be  not  broken  and  stuffed  with 
rags,  and  a  heap  of  shavings  or  filthy  straw  for  a  bed ; 
some  of  them  buy  hare  and  rabbit  skins,  and,  hoarding 
them  till  they  have  enough  to  sell,  creates  a  stench 
which  breeds  fever ;  the  hair  of  the  women  seems  never 
to  have  known  cap  or  comb  ;  such  clothes  as  they  have 
appear  never  to  be  taken  off,  day  or  night ;  they  have 
no  yards,  and  no  back-door  ;  perhaps  a  pump  is  found 
in  the  little  square,  round  which  they  have  been  built, 
but  the  supply  of  water  is  very  scanty  ;  and  five,  six, 
or  seven  children  will  swarm  in  these  closets  of  rooms, 
even  in  the  day  time.  It  is  worse  by  night.  A  police- 
man, very  recently,  after  due  warning  to  the  landlord 
of  one  such  p'lace  (who  persisted  that  only  himself,  his 


f 


A   MESSAGE,    AND   THE    MESSENGER. 


29 


wife,  and  liis  son,  slept  in  his  house),  broke  in  the  door 
at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  found  sixteen  per- 
sons in  heaps  upon  the  floor,  of  all  ages,  and  in  their 
midst  a  woman,  with  her  new-born  babe  of  scarce  an 
hour  old. 

Into  places  like  these  did  Marian  penetrate ;  and 
into  others  so  noxious,  that  a  workhouse,  which  abuts 
upon  them,  is  obliged  to  fumigate  them  over  its  walls. 
In  some  of  these  haunts  of  the  fallen  it  was  said, 
"  What  use  is  it  to  come  with  the  Bible  here  ?  It  is 
not  for  such  as  we  are."  But  then  she  heard  the 
answer,  "  Ah,  let  her  come ;  I  wish  we  were  like 
her  I  " 

Among  the  poor  she  perpetually  found  one  or  an- 
other who  knew  enough  by  hearsay,  or  by  old  re- 
membrance of  the  Book  of  God,  to  welcome  its  mes- 
senger. It  was  not  among  the  worst  and  the  lowest 
that  she  found  disrespect  to  the  Bible — they  knew 
nothing  of  its  contents,  but  had  a  general  notion  that 
it  was  something  intended  to  do  them  good.  One 
"  lady  with  lettuces "  made  her  a  courtesy  in  all 
reverence,  and  said  it  was  because  of  the  book  she 
carried. 

She  found  her  way  into  places  "  wliere  they  knew 
no  more  of  the  Bible  Society  than  they  did  of 
India  ;"  and  when  told  of  its  object  in  thus  sending 
the   Scriptures   to   them,   one   person    made    answer, 


' 


I  i 


4 


r 


80 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


I    > 


i 


"  Well,  I  wonder  what  next  will  be  done  for  us — it  is 
time  ;  we  have  been  left  to  ourselves  long  enough." 
Another,  after  looking  at  the  copies,  exclaimed, 
"  Well,  this  cannot  be  for  gain  !  "  There  appeared  a 
general  impression  that  the  books  could  not  be  pro- 
duced for  the  money  asked  as  their  cost  price.  Some- 
times, where  there  was  a  determination  to  purchase, 
the  penny  was  yet  spared  with  difficulty,  and  with — 
'*  Ah  !  you  do  not  know,  mistress,  what  a  struggle  I 
have  for  a  livelihood."  And  she  was  able  to  answer, 
"  Oh,  yes,  I  do.  I  am  quite  as  poor  as  you  are.  I 
know  it  all  ;  but  get  this  book — it  is  the  balm  for  all 
your  sorrow — I  bring  it  you,  because  I  have  found  it 
so  for  myself." 

At  last  she  found  her  way  into  a  court  where  she 
received  vile  usage  :  a  bucket  of  filth  was  emptied 
upon  her  from  an  upper  window.  This,  however,  only 
elicited  more  sympathy  from  those  who  stood  at  their 
doors  below.  One  woman  took  her  in,  and  wiped  her 
bonnet  ;*  another  brought  water  to  wash  her  face,  and 
on  the  whole  her  friends  exceeded  her  foes,  and  from 
the  date  of  this  roughly  commenced  acquaintance  she 
numbers  several  of  her  best  friends. 

"  Do  not  go  up  that  stair,"  said  a  City  Missionary, 
who  met  her  on  her  ,  in  Churcli-lane.  "  The  wo- 
man  who  lives  there  is  not  a  woman — she  is  a  fiend. 
It  takes  four  men  to  carry  her  home  when  she  is  drunk.'" 


^V 


A   MESSAGE,    AND   THE   MESSENGER. 


SI 


f 


"  It  is  to  such  as  her  I  go,"  said  the  quiet  visitor, 
and  passed  one. 

When  she  arrived  at  the  stair-head  she  heard  the 
voice  of  a  fury,  and,  tapping  at  the  door,  immediately 
entered.  The  fierce  woman,  a  drover's  wife,  standing 
six  feet  higli,  was  accustomed  to  keep  her  neighbors 
at  a  distance,  and  stared  in  amazement  at  Marian. 
A  boy  of  nine  years  old  stood  in  the  corner  naked  ; 
his  mother  had  just  been  beating  him,  after  cutting  his 
poor  old  trousers  to  ribbons,  in  search  of  a  sixpence 
which  she  said  he  had  stolen,  having  received  it  for 
sweeping  a  crossing. 

"  Do  not  beat  him  any  more,"  said  Marian  ;  "  I  dare 
say  he  will  remember  this  ;  but  what  will  you  do  with 
his  trousers  ?  He  cannot  put  them  on  again  :"  and, 
turning  to  the  child,  she  added, "  A  lady  gave  me  a 
pair  of  trousers  this  morning,  but  they  were  for  a  good 
boy,  if  I  found  him.  Could  you  promise  never  to 
keep  back  the  money  any  more  from  your  mother  if  I 
brought  them  to  you  V 

The  offer  was  so  timely,  and  the  voice  of  kindness 
so  unusual  in  that  apartment,  that  it  melted  the  child, 
and  even  touched  the  mother.  An  influence  began 
from  that  day  alike  over  mother  and  children.  This 
woman  had  been  very  violent  to  Marian  in  the  first 
weeks  of  her  new  vocation,  threatening  "  to  trample 
her  to  pieces  if  she  came  canting  into  her  court." 


i 


\ 


32 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


She  now,  however,  began  to  sub.scribe  for  a  Bible, 
to  dress  herself  decently,  and,  with  her  two  children, 
to  be  found  in  the  gallery  of  the  church  of  Old  St. 
Giles's — the  church  in  which  she  was  married,  but  had 
never  since  set  foot.  Her  good  friend  watched  her, 
unseen,  in  her  shadow  of  one  of  the  pillars,  and  scarce- 
ly recognized,  in  the  tidy  matron,  the  ferocious  vira- 
go. She  did  not  tell  her  she  had  seen  her,  but  the 
next  morning,  when  paying  her  subscription,  the  wo- 
man said  of  her  own  accord,  "  that  she  felt  so  much 
more  comfortable  than  when  she  had  been  to  the  gin- 
shop,  that  she  should  certainly  go  to  church  again." 
She  became  one  of  the  "  Bible-woman's  "  protectors  in 
the  notorious  Church-lane. 

It  is  interesting  to  recollect  the  fact  that  St.  Giles's 
has  been  watered  with  the  blood  of  martyrs,  and  of 
martyrs  for  reading  the  Bible.  The  churches  in  the 
district,  and  the  "  Mission-hall "  in  the  heart  of  it, 
have  sprung  up  where  a  thicket  or  copse  in  St.  Giles's 
Fields  once  afforded  shelter  at  dead  of  night  to  perse- 
cuted LoUaids.  A  company  of  these  "  Men  of  the 
Book"  (at  that  time  the  manuscript  Book),  which 
their  leader  Wicliff  had  translated,  had  met  in  St. 
Giles's  1  ields  on  the  night  of  the  6th  of  January,  1414. 
From  the  hour  that  it  was  ordained  in  St.  Paul's,  by 
convocation,  that  no  book  of  Wicliff 's  should  be  read 
either  in  public  or  private,  his  translation  of  the  Bible 


A   MESSAGE,   AND   THE   MESSENGEIl. 


3H 


?) 


became  "  the  Book  of  tho  |)coplo."  Its  precious  words 
were  treasured  all  the  more  for  tlie  prohibition,  and  in 
tlie  dark  cold  winter's  niglit,  men  and  women  came 
forth  to  listen  to  them. 

Their  enemies  untruly  informed  King  Henry  V, 
then  newly  come  to  the  throne,  "  that  Lord  Cobham 
(a  favorer  of  the  Lollards,  and  who  had  escaped  from 
im{)risonnient  in  the  Tower,  and  was  really  at  that 
time  taking  sheltcx*  in  Wales)  was  then  in  St.  Giles's 
fields,  at  the  head  of  20,000  of  his  followers,  meaning 
to  seize  the  king's  person,  and  make  himself  governor 
of  the  realm. 

The  young  Prince  believed  the  lie,  and  not  being 
wanting  in  personal  bravery,  armed  the  soldiers  about 
his  palace,  and  instantly  marched  to  the  place.  He 
attacked  the  few  poor  Lollards  that  were  there  as- 
sembled, killed  twenty,  and  took  sixty  prisoners.  He 
then  pressed  forwards,  thinking  he  had  only  met  with 
the  advanced  guard,  but  found  that  he  had  routed  the 
whole  body. 

Thirty-six  of  those  prisoners,  including  Sir  Roger 
Acton  and  Beverley,  one  of  their  preachers,  were 
hanged  and  burned,  says  the  chronicle,  near  the  spot 
where  they  were  taken  ;  and  three  years  afterwards 
Lord  Cobham  himself,  being  re-captured,  was  dragged 
ignominiously  upon  a  hurdle,  with  insult  and  barbarity, 
to  these  same  St.  Giles's  Fields,  and  there  hung  alive 
2* 


fW 


34 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


in  chains  upon  a  gallows,  while  a  fire  being  kindled 
beneath,  he  was  slowly  roasted  to  death. 

"Vengeance  is  mine,  saith  the  Lord;"  but  "the 
blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  Cliurch  ;  "  and 
we  believe  the  time  is  come  when  the  Word  of  God, 
being  "  unbound  " — the  same  good  old  Book  for  which 
tlieir  fathers  suffered — and  its  "  message  from  heaven  " 
being  freely  delivered  in  St.  Giles's,  many  a  soul  shall 
be  saved  on  that  spot,  and  many  a  brand  shall  be 
plucked  from  the  burning. 

It  was  very  pleasant  to  the  lady  who  sent  this  good 
woman  into  the  dens  and  rookeries  of  St.  Giles's — 
paying  her  by  the  kind  aid  of  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society — to  discover  tlie  result  of  former  efforts 
made  in  this  district.  The  decent  poor — tliose  who 
como  to  churches  and  chapels — were  found  very  well 
sup|)lied  with  the  Scriptures,  and  the  supply  kept  up. 
Mr.  Thorold,  the  new  Rector  of  St.  Giles's,  had,  from 
the  time  he  came  into  the  parish,  shown  himself  very 
anxious  on  this  point.  The  sacred  volume  was  given 
as  a  reward  to  the  children  in  the  schools,  and  a  very 
deep  interest  manifested  that  every  individual  who 
came  within  his  influence  should  possess  it.  The  work 
commenced  by  the  good  Bishop  of  Ripon,  as  previous 
Rector,  was  being  earnestly  carried  on  by  his  successor. 
Marian  lighted  upon  some  large  old  Bibles  which  had 
been  obtained  by  penny  subscriptions.     Some  of  them 


I 


)J 


1 


A    MES8A(JE,    AND   THE   MESSENGER. 


35 


bcarinf^  the  mark  of  British  and  Foreton  Bible 
Society  had  boon  well  used,  and  must  have  licen  sup- 
plied by  friends  of  this  institution  in  former  days  ;  and 
she  was  constantly  told,  "Oh,  yea!  I  can  get  a  Bible 
at  the  church  if  I  go  and  pay  the  penny." 

She,  therefore,  was  advised  that  her  errand  was 
chiefly  to  those  many  thousands  who  never  presented 
thcmsolver  cither  at  church  or  chapel  to  seek  the  pearl 
of  great  price,  and  who  were  without  the  pale  of  all 
good  agencies.  In  her  own  words,  she  found  ''enough 
for  the  labor  of  a  lifetime  nnderneath  all  that." 

The  difficulty  of  finding  access  to  the  lower  popula- 
tion of  St.  Giles's  can  only  be  realized  by  those  who 
have  attempted  it.  "  Out,  out,  out,"  was  the  perpetual 
summer  answer  in  room  after  room.  Marian  found 
them  "  such  an  unsettled  set  of  people.  They  have  no 
regular  time  for  dinner.  She  supposed  they  did  not 
often  have  a  dinner.  She  was  glad  to  perceive  any 
sign  that  they  were  going  to  stay, — the  little  bit  of 
curtain  at  the  window,  or  the  picture  hung  upon  the 
wall  ;  but  in  their  various  avocations  as  watercress 
sellers,  scavengers,  road  waterers,  crossing-sweepers, 
&c.,  they  are  such  a  wandering  folk." 

In  revisiting  the  rooms  a  second  time,  she  found  in 
them  quite  a  new  set  of  tenants  ;  and  yet  the  others 
were  said  to  be  "  coming  back  when  haying  is  over  ;" 
or, "  on  the  Saturday  night ;"  the  present  occupants  re- 


ir 


86 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


maining  also.  In  several  instances  she  found  the 
message  left  for  her  from  a  subscriber,  that  their 
money  should  be  paid  on  Saturday  evening.  From 
those  wlio  were  at  homo  she  spoke  of  the  reception  as 
better  and  better  every  visit,  but  it  required  the  devo- 
tion of  far  more  than  the  five  hours  a  day  promised  to 
the  Society  to  meet  the  circumstances  of  the  place,  and 
the  occupations  of  the  people.  In  one  house  she  had 
three  subscribers,  whose  subscriptions  must  be  sought 
at  three  different  times.  Each  could  only  be  found  at 
a  particular  hour.  One  of  them  served  milk  ;  she  was 
a  Welsh-woman,  and  seemed  much  in  earnest  to  get  a 
Bible,  being  no  stranger  to  its  value. 

When  the  superintendent  of  this  interesting  work 
came  to  sum  up  the  details  of  the  first  month's  labor, 
seventy  Bible  subscribers  were  found  on  the  books, 
two  of  them  only  being  Romanists.  The  prevailing 
taste  was  for  small  copies,  with  gilt  edges,  and  what- 
ever had  been  the  mixed  character  of  the  reception 
that  "  Marian  "  had  met  with,  slw  at  least  had  such  a 
sense  of  the  i'^portance  of  her  mission,  that  having 
made  her  way  into  recesses  in  Die  midst  of  which  she 
had  lived  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  with- 
out being  aware  of  their  existence,  she  said  she  could 
no  longer  leave  them  unvisited  while  strength  remain- 
ed, if  haply  out  of  those  depths  of  misery  she  might 
bring  one  soul  to  Jesus. 


i 


i  '"^'n     II 


A    MESSAGE,    AND   THE    MESSENGER. 


:j7 


Those  Bible  visits,  it  will  be  perceived,  were  paid  to 
a  class  of  persons  Mow  ihe  (hceut  poor,  and  to  llioso 
who  compose  that  larji^e  uiulorlyinj^  mass  of  humanity 
which  never  seeks  to  bring  itself  witliin  the  range  of 
moral  or  spiritual  effort  for  its  own  elevation.  The 
one  concern  of  these  people — winter  and  summer,  and 
year  after  year — is  merely  to  live — and  to  thousands, 
the  easiest  and  idlest  mode  to  attain  this  end  is  by  the 
vice  and  filth  amidst  which  they  were  born  and  bred. 

Tiiey  crowd  together  in  hundreds  of  courts  and 
alloys  like  those  above  described,  and,  except  in  soli- 
tary cases,  they  are  content  to  do  so  ;  they  have  no 
wish  to  be  raised — no  feelings  in  common  with  the 
classes  above  them.  They  must  eat,  drink  and  sleep, 
and  to-morrow,  perhay)s,  die — knowing  nothing  of  the 
re .  olation  of  a  life  beyond,  and  not  ciwimj  to  knotc. 
Few  among  those  of  the  last  generation  can  read,  but 
the  light  breaking  into  the  dark  picrurc  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  many  of  the  children  can,  and  that  a  race 
is  now  springing  up  into  men  and  women  who  have  a 
great  desire  for  reading.  Many  may  be  seen  of  an 
evening,  sitting  along  the  edges  of  the  pavement,  with 
penny  periodicals  in  their  hands,  the  character  of 
which  is  of  every  varied  shade  of  good  and  evil.  The 
London  Journal  is  one  of  the  greatest  favorites. 

Of  what  unspeakable  importance,  then,  was  it  to 
penetrate  these  regions  with  the  Bible?    Our  next 


! 


88 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


chapter  will  show  what  further  knowledge  was  secur- 
ed by  these  visits,  concerning  the  habits  and  wants  of 
the  people.  It  was  not  the  first  aim  to  secure  such 
knowledge.  The  enterprise  was  undertaken  only 
with  a  deep  sense  that  the  message  from  God  should 
be  carried  to  every  member  of  the  human  family.  Its 
welcome  from  the  lost  and  the  fallen  was  somewhat 
unexpected  ;  and  facts  seemed  very  early  to  point  to 
the  supposition  that  the  right  agency,  "  the  missing 
link,"  between  them  and  those  who  wished  to  serve 
them,  had  perhaps  by  accident  been  found. 


CHAPTER   III. 

MARIAN'S   TEA-PARTY   IN   ST.   GILES'S. 

The  second  month  of  Bible  visits  had  not  passed 
away  before  a  desire  arose  in  the  heart  of  the  persever- 
ing visitor,  and  of  the  friend  to  whom  she  continually 
brought  her  reports,  to  do  something  to  place  these 
people  in  a  condition  to  projit  hy  the  Book  they  were 
willing  to  buy.  It  was  almost  impossible  to  sit  down 
to  read  the  Bible  to  them  in  the  midst  of  their  dirt. 
*'  I  should  like,  if  you  had  no  objection,  ma'am,"  said 
Marian,  "  to  ask  a  few  of  them  to  tea  with  me — my 
husband  is  in  the  country — and  then  T  could  have  a 
little  talk  with  them  on  their  ways,  and  how  to  mend 
them."  ^ 

The  lady  cordially  entered  into  this  proposal.  She 
told  Marian  that  any  small  expense  to  which  the  tea 
might  put  her  should  be  met,  and  awaited  the  r':;sult. 
This,  perhaps,  is  best  given  in  the  form  of  a  conversa- 
tion as  it  occurret^L  between  the  parties. 

"  Well,  Mrs.  B.,  and  did  you  have  your  tea-party  of 
your  most  punctual  Bible-subscribers,  as  you  proposed  ? 
How  many  did  you  invite  ?" 

[39] 


■  I 

■'I 


I: 


w 


mmm?M 


mm 


M 

■  m 

'J  I 

'     ii 
1 

i ' 

:  :0 


40 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


"  Eight  women,  ma'am  ;  and  tliey  all  Came,  and  said 
they  had  never  spent  such  a  pleasant  evening  in  their 
lives.  After  many  visits  to  their  homes  to  collect  the 
pence,  I  had  picked  out  those  to  whom  I  thought  I 
might  do  some  good  ;  and  they  had  washed  their  poor 
gowns  and  caps,  and  came  so  tidy,  I  scarcely  knew 
them  for  the  same  that  I  had  seen  in  their  '  dens.' 
Three  of  them  brought  babies  in  arms,  which  they 
could  not  leave." 

"  And  how  did  you  seat  them  ?" 

"  I  had  five  chairs,  and  the  rest  sat  on  the  bed-side. 
I  asked  my  landlady,  and  she  had  no  objection  to  the 
party." 

"  I  suppose  you  knew  who  they  were  ?  " 

"  Some  were  sellers  of  hare  and  rabbit  skins,  water- 
cresses,  fruit,  fish,  and  flowers  ;  but  now  they  were  all 
*'  going  to  the  hops.' " 

"  What  did  their  husbands  do  for  a  living  ?" 

"  The  same  things,  or  some  of  them  go  out  to  cut 
turves  for  birds,  and  pay  a  trifle  a  quarter  for  the  right 
to  do  so.  But  in  one  thing  they  were  all  agreed — they 
had  all  bad  husbands." 

*'  What  did  you  say  to  that?" 

"  I  told  them  I  felt  I  had  a  good  one,  and  I  thought 
they  might  have  good  husbands  if  they  would,  because 
a  clean,  kind,  sober  woman  almost  always  makes  a 
good  husband  ;  but  one  wlio  aits  about  dirty  and  idle, 


# 


\ 


Marian's  tea-party  at  st.  Giles's. 


41 


and  never  has  a  clean  hearth  or  j,  nice  cup  of  tea  for 
him  when  he  comes  in  from  his  work,  need  not  wonder 
if  he  goes  to  the  public  house,  and  spends  there  in  one 
night  what  would  keep  the  family  for  a  week." 

"  Now  tell  me  about  the  tea.  How  much  did  you 
provide  for  your  party  ?  " 

"  I  bought  one  ounce  of  the  best  tea,  and  half  a 
pound  of  lump  sugar,  half  a  pound  of  butter,  and  a 
quartern  loaf.  I  did  think  of  two  pennyworth  of 
cream  ;  but  then,  as  I  meant  it  for  a  pattern  of  a  plain 
and  comfortable  tea,  I  thought  they  would  not  be  used 
to  that,  so  I  did  without." 

"  And  what  did  it  co&t  ?  You  must  tell  me  the 
items." 

"  The  tea,  4^d.  ;  sugar,  3iVd.  ;  butter,  8d.  ;  bread, 
8d. ;  in  all,  2s.  But  not  that  really,  because  I  had  so 
much  left." 

"  What  did  you  talk  about  at  tea-time  ?" 

"  They  had  all  bought  the  same  Holy  Book,  and  had 
doije  so  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives.  So  we  talked 
;u.r.,'t  that ;  and  I  told  them  what  it  had  done  for  me, 
ai,  i  now  that  made  me  come  and  bring  it  to  them ; 
and  they  said  they  hoped,  in  time,  it  would  make  them 
as  happy  as  I  was." 

"  Were  they  all  able  to  read  ?" 

"  No,  indeed,  very  few  of  them  ;  but  their  children 
could.    I  found  that  each  had  some  dim  knowledge  of 


42 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


the  facts  of  the  New  Testament,  picked  up  from  their 
children,  who  t^o  to  school." 

"  Did  you  talk  about  the  children  ?  " 

**  Yes  ;  and  I  asked  them  to  take  some  pride  in  their 
children.  They  have  some  lovely  children  ;  but  they 
never  seem  to  clean  or  comb  them.  They  say, '  What 
use  is  it,  for  they  have  no  clothes  ?  It  is  as  much  as 
we  can  do  to  feed  them.' " 

"  Did  any  of  the  eight  attend  public  worship  on  the 
Sabbath?" 

"  I  think  one  ha<.  been  once  or  twice  to  Mr.  Lee's 
cottage  service  on  a  Tuesday  evening,  and  that  some 
impression  had  been  made  on  her.  Another  had  been 
once  to  Bloomsbury  Mission-hall,  but  the  tale  was  the 
same — No  clothes  to  go  in.  '  The  people  are  so  fine,' 
said  one.  '  Would  you,  Mrs.  B.,  like  to  go  and  sit  down 
with  your  poor  old  gown,  and  not  a  bit  of  a  rag  of  a 
shawl  on,  by  the  side  of  a  handsome  cape,  and  a  nice 
veil  on  a  bonnet?' mentioning  by  name  the  wearers 
of  such  articles." 

" '  Yes,'  I  said,  *  I  know.  They  are  teetotalers.  The 
man  earns  but  15s.  a  week,  and  the  woman  works  at 
the  army  clothing.  You  could  dress  just  as  well ,  per- 
haps, if  you  took  the  way  they  have  taken,  for  some  of 
you  earn  as  much  money  as  they  do.'  Then  I  told 
them  how  pleased  I  was  to  see  them  all  now  so  clean 
and  tidy,  and  that  I  felt  so  kind  of  them  to  pay  me 


i 


,  -1* 


Marian's  tea-party  at  st.  Giles's. 


48 


«: 


that  respect.  I  had  invited  them  only  to  try  to  do 
them  good,  and  sec  if  wc  could  help  each  other  to 
make  a  few  more  comfortable  homes  in  St.  Giles's. 
'  I  know  what  you  could  do,'  I  said,  *  because  I  have 
seen  your  places,  and  they  would  be  as  good  as  this  if 
you  liked.  Now,  if  one  of  you  gets  new  strong  boots, 
another  wants  new  strong  boots  ;  and  new  boots  are 
the  one  thing  you  ivill  have,  it  seems,  whatever  else 
you  go  without.  If  one  of  you  would  be  clean,  another 
would  be  clean.'  Then  they  said  they  thought  they 
would  try."  «^ 

"  Thank  God  for  that ;  we  will  help  them  to  try. 
Were  they  all  going  now  to  the  hops  ?  Did  they  tell 
you  about  the  hop-grounds  ?  I  suppose  you  have  never 
seen  them,  for  you  told  me  jou  had  spent  the  whole  of 
your  life  in  St.  Giles's  yourself,  without  going  into  the 
country  till  your  husband's  illness  called  you  to  G  .  .  ." 

"  Oh,  yes  1  all  the  rest  of  their  talk  was  about  the 
hops.  I  could  quite  fancy  how  beautiful  they  look  ;  it 
is  the  time  they  reckon  on  all  the  year,  like  the  gentry 
going  out  of  town.  Everybody  goes — i.  e.,  of  the  low- 
est sort ;  but  there  are  difierent  places  to  which  they 
go.  Five  of  these  women  were  going  to  Squire  E.'s, 
of  Town  Maulding,  and  those  who  were  going  there 
were  very  happy  and  well  off.  He  is  a  great  hop- 
grower,  who  cares  for  his  pickers,  and  has  a  set  of 
barracks  prepared  on  purpose  for  them  ;  and  his  other 


i  '11 


I 


44 


THE   MISSIXU    LINK. 


I 


laborers  go  away  to  make  them  room.  But  his  people 
are  obliged  to  conform  to  his  rules.  He  rides  on 
horseback  up  and  down  the  lines  every  morning  to  see 
if  things  are  all  right.  A  horn  calls  them  to  work  ; 
they  have  a  missionary  to  visit  them  ;  and  he  ivill  have 
the  Sunday  kept.  No  washing,  and  no  card-playing, 
i*nd  no  dancing  ;  but  he  makes  it  quite  pleasant  to 
them.  Their  husbands  are  each  binsmen,  who  take 
down  their  own  crew,  partly  their  own  families. 
Generally  speaking,  the  men  seem  to  keep  what  they 
earn,  and  the  women  what  they  earn,  each  to  them- 
selves." 

"  Were  the  rest  going  into  Kent  ?" 

"  Yes  ;  three  were  going  to  F ,  where  the  farmers 

care  more  for  their  horses  than  for  men  and  women  ; 
and  they  would  take  their  own  dirty  beds  and  filthy 
children,  and  slcop  in  barns  or  out  of  doors  ;  but  this 
year  is  a  very  fine  hop  year,  so  it  would  not  seem  so 
hard.  We  had  a  little  more  talk  about  dirt,  and  I  told 
them  all  of  the  tickets  so  easily  to  be  had  for  baths 
and  wash-houses,  so  l^at  there  is  reallv  no  excuse  for 
being  dirty  in  St.  Giles's." 

"  And  then,  I  suppose,  you  read  a  chapter  to  them. 
What  chapter  did  you  read  ?" 

*'  The  15th  of  St.  Matthew,  and  they  listened  very 
gladly  ;  and  then  we  knelt  down,  and  I  prayed  as  well 
as  I  could  that  God  would  take  them  into  his  keeping- 


Marian's  tea-party  at  st.  Giles's. 


45 


while  they  went  to  the  hops,  and  they  all  said  they  did 
hope  we  should  meet  again  when  they  came  home. 
They  will  take  their  Bibles  with  them,  and  one  of 
them  took  charge  for  me  of  a  poor  child,  not  nine 
years  old,  and  carried  her  with  her  to  nurse  her  baby. 
She  has  early  been  led  into  ways  of  sin,  and  was  not 
old  enough  to  be  taken  into  a  reformatory.  I  have 
heard  from  this  woman,  and  I  think  she  will  keep  the 
girl  when  she  comes  home." 

As  we  are  here  relating  facts  in  the  order  in  which 
they  occurred,  it  is  at  this  period  we  must  mention 
that  the  individual  who  had  secured  the  services  of 
'■  Marian,''  being  the  Editor  of  a  cheap  periodical  en- 
titled "  The  Book  and  its  Missions,"  had  given  many 
of  the  foregoing  particulars  in  its  pages  concerning 
the  people  in  St.  Giles's,  under  the  head  of  the  "  Home 
Missions  of  the  Bible."  One  of  its  readers,  an  Irish 
lady,  touched  by  the  account  of  this  poor  woman's  de- 
votion to  the  welfare  of  her  country  people,  liad,  un- 
asked, sent  <£5  to  promote  the  social  improvements  of 
which  such  need  was  indicated.  To  this  sum  two  or 
three  kind  friends  at  Cheltenham  had  added  similar 
voluntary  contributions,  so  that  an  unforeseen  fund  was 
placed  in  the  liands  of  the  Editor  wherewith  to  pro- 
mote such  improvements. 

A  wish  arose  that  God  might,  in  His  mercy,  multiply 
female  agency  like  this  a  hundredfold  for  neighbor- 


'i 


46 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


hoods  similar  to  St.  Giles's ;  that  He  might  raise  up 
and  train  by  His  providence  these  native  reformers  of 
their  own  class  ;  and  that  educated  Christian  ladies 
might  find  them  out,  and  quietly  help  them  in  their 
work. 

No  lady,  however  self-denying,  would  have  been 
able,  by  repeated  visits,  to  seek  the  eight  women  above 
described  in  the  haunts  from  which  they  came.  Places 
like  St.  Giles's  have  their  own  pride  and  their  own 
reserve.  They  need  female  agency  of  their  oivn,  co- 
operative with  all  present  missionary  work,  and  the 
right  beginning  and  root  of  such  agency  is  in  the  ser- 
vice OP  THE  Word  of  God. 

A  man  colporter,  with  his  bag  of  books,  passing  up 
and  down  the  streets  of  St.  Giles's,  in  the  months  of 
July,  August,  and  September,  especially  when  the 
people  were  gone  to  the  hay,  the  harvest,  and  the 
hops,  and  acting  according  to  the  ordinary  rules  of 
colportage,  would  probably  have  returned,  saying  he 
could  make  no  sales,  and  that  the  people  were  supplied ; 
yet,  in  the  space  of  the  same  fourteen  weeks,  this  ex- 
periment of  female  colportage,  and  weekly  collection 
of  pence  combined,  effected  a  sale  of  174  copies — 54  of 
them  Bibles — and  in  the  most  unlikely  quarters. 

Our  next  purpose  is  to  show  how  certain  domestic 
reforms  of  necessity  ensued  from  the  continuance  of 
the  Bible  visits.    Domestic  reforms  1 — how  much  need- 


11 


Marian's  tea-party  in  st.  Giles's. 


47 


od !  England  is  looked  upon  abroad  as  the  country 
wliose  faith  is  founded  on  a  Book  ^vliich  she  wishes  to 
give  to  all  mankind.  But  while  slie  goes  forth  to  pos- 
sess tlie  field  of  the  world,  has  she  not  too  often  for- 
gotten her  heathen  at  home — those  who  cluster  round 
her  in  her  capital  city — pitiable  beings,  who  live  as  if 

Nthey  had  no  God,  no  Bible,  no  hope,  no  thought  of 
heaven — crowded  together,  often  famishing,  thriftless, 
naked,  weary,  drunken  ?  We  blush  to  utter  the  cry 
so  frequently  heard  at  the  doors  of  their  "  dens,"  when 
a  child  has  been  asked  for  its  mother  ;  the  answer  is, 
"  Mother's  drunk  !  "  No  home,  of  course,  for  the  fath- 
er— none  for  the  children.  Do  these  people  really 
belong  to  the  nation  that  gives  the  Bible  to  the 
world  ? 


f"^- 
•»*• 


I 


U 

M 


CHAPTER   IV. 


I 


SKETCHES    FROM   LIFE    IN  THE   SEVEN   DIALS. 


"  Now,  Marian,  and  how  stands  tlie  account  between 
us,  as  to  the  sale  of  books,  by  tliis  time  ?  You  have 
been  employed  at  the  expense  of  the  Bible  Society  for 
twenty  weeks,  and  you  do  not  seem  weary  of  your  work 
among  your  people." 

"  I  do  not  know  how  I  could  be  weary,  ma'am,  of 
that  which  gives  me  such  true  happiness.  Indeed, 
every  week's  work  seems  happier  and  happier.  I  have 
sold  250  copies — 130  Bibles  and  120  Testaments — and 
mostly  to  a  class  of  persons  who  would  not  have  been 
likely  to  buy  them  of  any  one  else.  Wherever  I  have 
had  a  subscriber,  1  try  and  keep  up  the  right  of  still 
paying  a  visit,  so  that,  in  250  rooms,  I  mostly  find  an 
entrance  and  a  welcome  ;  and,  as  one  tells  another,  the 
number  is  always  increasing." 

"  You  seem  to  be  much  improved  in  hea'th  and 
strength  yourself,  since  I  persuaded  you  to  leave  off 
taking  tea  for  your  dinner,  and  gave  you  the  iron 
saucepan  to  make  nourishing  soup  instead.     Do  you 

[48] 


-* 


LIFE    IN    THK   SKVEN    DIALS. 


40 


I 


J0 


find  that  this  notion  spreads  among  the  people  ?  And 
to  how  many  of  them  have  you  lent  tiie  saucepans  and 
deep  dishes,  which  our  St.  (iiles's  fund  enabled  us  to 
buy?" 


To 


differ* 


of 


sixteen  people,  m  uiiierent  parts  oi  my  ais- 
trict.  They  have  all  bought  the  printed  receipts*  of 
the  "  soup  that  could  be  made  for  sixpence,"  with 
which  you  provided  me,  at  one  halfpenny  each,  and 
they  valued  them  more  than  if  they  had  been  given 
away.  Each  woman,  when  she  has  made  soup  for  her- 
self, lends  the  saucepan  to  some  one  else,  and  she  to 
another,  so  that  they  are  serving  about  forty  families. 
Everything  is  lent  in  St.  Giles's,  from  a  pair  of  bellows 
to  a  "washing-tub.  One  article  of  each  kind  will  serve 
a  court.  Indeed,  they  have  seldom  more  than  one 
among  them  of  anything  that  can  be  borrowed." 

"Is  all  your  stock  disposed  of?" 

"  No.  I  am  reserving  two,  whicli  I  had  intended  to 
give  to  Mrs.  A.  and  Mrs.  F.  ;  but  I  have  heard  a  bad 
character  of  them,  and  have  even  seen  Mrs.  A.  the 
worse  for  drink  myself  this  week.  So  I  thought  I 
would  ask  you  about  it." 

"  Then  I  think  we  will  try  them,  because  it  is  by 
this  soup,  if  they  will  make  it,  that,  by  degrees,  they 
may,  perhaps,  be  weaned  from  gin-taking.     What  is 


*  See  Appendix  for  receipt. 


8 


50 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


it,  do  you  think,  that  drives  them  so  much  to  drink- 
ing ?  " 

"  Oftentimes  it  is  trouble.  It  was  that  just  now 
with  Mrs.  A.  Her  husband  drinks  ;  and  one  morninnj 
last  week  ho  came  and  took  away  their  only  bed,  and 
pawned  it  for  2s.,  and  drank  the  money.  So  then  her 
neighbors  pitied  her,  and  said, '  Come,  poor  thing,  we'll 
stana  a  drop  to  comfort  you,  and  make  you  forget  it.' 
I  feared  that  if  I  lent  them  the  saucepan  he  might  take 
away  that  also." 

"  Suppose  you  give  him  a  meal  of  your  soup,  and 
theu  tell  him  you  will  teach  his  wife  to  make  it." 

"  Certainly  I  can.  I  bought  three  jugs,  that  I  might 
always  be  ready  to  show  them  a  pattern.  They  fly  to 
drink  because  it  is  at  hand,  and  warms  them  for  a 
while,  and  *  makes  them  forget.'  Their  fathers  and 
mothers  did  it  before  them,  and  no  one  has  taught  them 
aay  better.  Yet  they  need  not  be  so  miserable,  for 
they  earn  enough,  if  they  only  knew  how  to  spend  it. 
Sometimes,  by  selling  in  the  streets,  they  earn  three  or 
four  shillings  a  day  between  them." 

"  And  how  do  they  spend  it  ?" 

"  Well,  they  will  have  their  supper.  So  they  send 
out  for  a  loaf  of  new  bread  and  half  a  pound  of  cheese, 
and  a  pot  of  porter,  which,  altogether,  costs  Is.  4d. 
The  woman  and  the  children  get  a  little  of  the  beer, 
and  the  man  gets  enough  to  make  him  want  more,  for 


i 


■% 


LIFK   IN   THK   SEVEN    DIALS. 


61 


which  ho  goes  to  the  ))ublic-liou«!e,  and  tliorc  f^tnys. 
glad  enough  to  get  away  from  the  comfortless  room  at 
home  ;  and  then  he  drinks  up  the  rest  of  the  nK>n(\v, 
while  that  which  they  spent  on  their  supper  alone 
would  make  nourishing  soup  for  half  the  week.  The 
soup  in  the  receipt  is  very  good,  and  it  takes  with  the 
people  much  more  than  if  it  had  been  said,  '  make  it 
of  bones.'  But  I  find  for  myself  that  if  I  buy  a  cow- 
heel,  or  a  bone  from  which  steaks  have  been  cut  ofl", 
for  4d.,  I  can  sell  the  bone  for  2d.,  after  I  have  stewed 
it ;  and,  with  vegetables,  the  soup  is,  when  cold,  quite 
a  jelly.  Indeed,  I  have  brought  a  basinful,  ma'am, 
this  morning,  that  you  may  judge  for  yourself." 

"  Thank  you  ;  it  is  exceedingly  good.  1  guessed 
that  *  bones,'  if  mentioned  in  the  receipt,  would  have 
been  rejected  :  you  can  teach  them  further  wisdom  at 
discretion.  1  believe  that  soup-making  for  themselves 
would  alone  cause  a  reformation  in  St.  Giles's,  be- 
cause the  nourishment  it  would  give  would  prevent 
the  constant  craving  for  stimulants,  at  which  one 
scarcely  wonders,  amid  the  foul  smells  abounding,  and 
the  perpetual  weakening  of  digestion  by  the  hot  cup 
of  tea :  and  you  cannot  hope  to  raise  them  to  think 
over  the  message  from  God,  which  you  have  carried 
to  them,  till  some  check  is  placed  on  their  consump- 
tion of  that  which  ruins  them,  body  and  soul.  T 
wonder  that  the  soup-kitchens,  opened  for  them,  have 


52 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


'jA   ,.i 


not  long  ago  put  them  upon  thinking  of  making  it  for 
themselves." 

"  They  do  not  think  much.  They  say  their  lives 
are  pass-'id  in  struggles  for  a  living ;  and  many  of 
them  answer  me  now  with,  'I'm  sure  I  never  thought 
of  this  before.  Mrs.  B./  when  I  am  showing  them  what 
they  might  do,  and  how  their  places  mighv  look,  if 
they  would  take  a  little  trouble.  *  WeVe  willing  to 
be  taught,'  they  say,  '  if  you'll  teach  us.'  An\  I  do 
feel  as  if  God  were  making  them  willing ;  for,  when 
they  speak  to  me,  it  is  not  as  to  gentlefolks,  whom 
they  covild  deceive.  They  know  I  know  their  ways  ; 
and  how  soup-tickets,  and  bread-tickets,  and  coal- 
tickets,  and  blankets,  all  are  sold  among  them,  like 
any  other  things,  to  get  gin.  I  am  more  and  more 
sviro  that  gifts  are  of  no  use  to  them,  except  in  some 
such  way  as  the  saucepans  are  lent — to  make  them  try 
and  help  themselves." 

"Have  you  found  any  other  mode  of  doing  this? 
What  is  there  in  that  parcel  you  have  brought  with 
you  this  morning  ?" 

"  Some  clothing  for  St.  Giles's,  ma'am,  which  again 
I  find  the  people  are  ready  and  willing  to  make  for 
themselves,  if  only  put  in  the  way.  I  have  my  eight 
women  to  tea  now  regularly  two  nights  in  the  week, 
and  not  always  the  same  eight.  You  dropped  a  liint 
one  day  when  I  was  with  you,  a  month  ago,  about  a 


LIFE   IN   THE   SEVEN    DIALS. 


53 


clothing  club  that  you  liad  known  in  Kent,  where  the 
poor  women  made  the  garment  they  were  going  after- 
wards to  buy,  the  stuff  being  bought  and  cut  out  for 
them.  So  I  thought  it  over,  and  laid  out  Is.  1  Id.,  which 
bought  this  strong,  unbleached  shirting,  and  print  for 
two  pinafores,  besides  so^ne  calico.  I  cut  out  the 
shirt  and  pinafores,  and  fixed  them,  and  had  needles 
ar.d  cotton  ready,  and  last  night  my  party  helped  me 
to  make  them,  and  promised  gladly  to  buy  them  when 
they  were  made.  They  said,  *  Bring  us  plenty  of 
these  things,  Mrs.  B.,  and  we  will  buy  them,  particu- 
larly if  we  save  our  money  by  the  soup.'  If  I  had 
taken  them  work  to  do  ^'>r  you,  ma'am,  they  would 
have  told  me  they  had  not  time,  or  could  not  work  ; 
but  they  will  make  time  to  do  it  for  themselves.  And 
what  a  change  of  life  it  will  be  to  them  from  their 
lazy  ways  1  I  have  been  reckoning,  but  I  scarcely 
like  to  ask  for  more  money,  though  it  is  an  outlay  that 
would  very  soon  be  returned." 
"  Well,  what  is  it  you  have  been  reckoning  ?" 
"  I  have  been  thinking  that  if  I  might  provide  scis' 
sors,  bodkins,  thimbles,  and  cotton  (for  not  one  woman 
that  came  to  me  had  either),  as  well  as  material — 
shirting,  calico,  print  for  girls'  frocks  and  pinafores, 
and  jean  for  boys'  blouses — I  might  cut  out  and  fix 
garments,  just  such  as  the  people  say  they  should  want, 
and.  when  I  had  fixed  them,  tliey  would  make  them. 


i,:i 


54 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


I 


So  the  women  would  bo  taught  to  work  while  they 
were  getting  clothed  ;  and,  at  tlie  same  time,  led  to 
save  their  money  from  the  gin-shop  ;  and  then  from 
decent  clothing  would  follow  the  possibility  of  their 
going  to  places  of  worship,  and  their  children  to 
school ;  while,  again,  this  better  dress  would  make 
them  feel  that  they  must  have  a  clean  room  to  s^'t 
down  in.  All  this  good  might  come  out  of  the  Bible 
visits." 

"  I  rejoice  that  you  have  discovered  these  things  for 
yourself.  You  live  in  the  midst  of  the  human  material 
that  wants  re-shaping,  and  you  see  its  needs.  You 
have  been  led  to  do  this  by  God's  kindling  in  your 
heart  the  earnest  desire  to  carry  to  those  homes  His 
Message,  His  Word  ;  and  His  power,  not  your  own, 
has  opened  for  you  a  door  of  entrance :  yo2i  must  have 
had  a  message  to  begin  with.  And  amid  all  these 
schemes  of  usefulness,  I  should  grieve  if  you  personally 
ever  swerve  from  this  one  aim  of  the  circulation  of  the 
Scriptures  as  your  sole  employment  for  the  five  hours 
of  the  day  specified.  Are  you  willing  now  to  under- 
take a  fresh  term  for  this  special  work,  and  (as  God 
shall  raise  them  up)  to  help  to  train  others  to  go  and 
do  likewise  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  indeed,  I  am  !  I  often  ftcl  that,  paid  or 
unpaid,  I  could  never  give  up  that  work  as  long  as  I 
live,  while  God  aftbrds  me  health  and  strength  to  do 


mm 


SOSR 


I 


LIFE  IN   THE   SEVEN   DIALS. 


65 


it.  In  comparison  with  it  the  work  for  the  body  is  of 
small  importance ;  but  the  one  grows  out  of  the 
other." 

''I  see  it  does.  It  always  did,  when  the  Bible  work 
was  properly  done,  even  by  ladies.  You  bear  to  the 
people  the  Book  which  says,  '  Deal  thy  bread  to  the 
hungry  ; '  and  which  commands  that  *  when  thou 
seest  the  naked,  that  thou  cover  him.'  (Isa.  Iviii.  7.) 
And  this  is  most  effectually  done,  as  experience  has 
proved,  by  helping  the  poor  to  provide  for  their  own 
necessities.  I  wish  to  know,  that  I  may  represent  to 
others  who  believe  that  they  wish,  or  are  fitted  for, 
this  kind  of  employment,  how  you  have  followed  out 
in  detail  the  desire  expressed  in  your  letter  to  '  return 
in  the  evening  to  the  homes  where  the  aid  of  a  friend- 
ly hand  was  needed  to  rectify  disorder.'  I  should  fear 
you  would  be  too  tired,  on  returning  to  your  dinner  at 
tliree  o'clock,  to  make  further  effort." 

"  You  know,  ma'am,  my  district  lies  ail  near  my  own 
home  ;  and  there  is  much  that  I  can  do  whil<  itting 
still  to  rest.  I  can  think  and  plan  for  individual 
cases  ;  I  can  cut  out  and  fix  the  needle-work  ;  and  see 
to  my  soup-making  for  the  next  day,  for  my  tire  is  out 
while  I  am  away  from  home  ;  and  afterwards  I  very 
often  find  it  needful  to  go  and  do  the  thing  that  I  want 
to  be  done.  If  a  poor  woman  is  ill,  I  can  make  her 
bed  and  right  her  room  for  the  night :  I  can  wash  her 


M 


m 

^±  1 


56 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


children  for  her,  and  show  her  how  bright  their  clean 
faces  might  be  made  ;  and  I  can  interest  her  now 
about  being  able  to  get  clotlics  for  them  fit  to  go  to 
school.  The  cover-all  pinafor'  first,  to  hide  rags 
(wliich  I  wash  for  her  some  day,  perhaps,  to  show  tliai 
they  might  at  least  be  clean  rags),  and  then  that  nice 
pinafore  outside  will  soon  bring  the  desire  for  the  clean 
whole  garments  within.  I  have  quite  enough  already 
to  encourage  me  to  persevere.  And  there  is  many  a 
room  where  at  first  I  found  no  furniture  but  an  old 
table,  with  the  tin  beer-cans  upon  it,  and  perhaps  a 
pack  of  cards,  with  two  or  three  old  baskets  turned 
upside  down  for  seats,  and  naked  children  sprawling 
round,  that  now  begins  to  look  very  difi'erent.  It  does 
argue  something  good  about  them,  when  they  are  told 
I  have  '  a  message  from  God '  to  them,  so  many  are  not 
unwilling  to  hear  it ;  and  they  may,  by  a  continuance 
of  this  visiting,  be  persuaded  to  come  forth  and  hear 
the  message  as  explained  by  the  ministers  of  His 
word.  As  I  read  a  few  verses  to  them  sometimes,  the 
words  seem  to  drop  like  healing  balm  upon  their 
sorrows,  poor  things  !  for  they  almost  all  say  that  their 
husbands  treat  them  badly  and  beat  them.  One  learns 
to  do  so  of  anotlier,  and  I  believe  it  depends  very  much 
upon  the  women  to  alter  it.  They  are  certainly  most 
thankfuj  for  a  little  kindness  ;  and  one  or  two  of  them 
have  said,  after  the  saucepan?  were  lent  to  them, 


Pillll  IHJJii I 


mmmmmmfmm 


LIFE  IN  THE  SEVEN  DIALS. 


67 


'  Well,  now,  I  am  sure  we  can  do  no  less,  Tom,  than 
go  to  church  or  to  the  Mission-liall  (as  it  may  be)  next 
Sunday  evening.'" 

"  I  suppose  they  are  settled  now  again  into  their 
winter  quarters.  How  have  they  spent  tlie  money,  in 
general,  that  they  brought  with  them  from  the  hop- 
grounds  ?  " 

"  A  few  seem  to  have  spent  it  wisely,  and  have 
bought  excellent  second-hand  warm  shawls  and  strong 
boots  for  themselves  and  their  children.  Many  more 
have  spent  it  very  unwisely.  St.  Giles's  was  like  a 
fair  the  first  weeks  in  October.  They  met  in  *  factions,' 
and  filled  each  other's  rooms,  and  sliowed  their  new 
clothes,  which,  one  by  one,  soon  disappeared  for  drink. 
The  clothes  were  very  often  unsuitable.  I  saw  one 
woman  wearing  a  flounced  gown  of  all  the  colors  of 
the  rainbow,  edged  with  black  velvet,  made  in  the 
height  of  fashion,  but  worn  with  uncombed  hair  and 
the  boots  that  had  served  in  tlie  hop-ground.  I  believe 
two-thirds  of  this  extraordinary  earning  by  the  hop- 
picking  is  gone  in  drink." 

"  That  is  sad,  indeed  ;  but  let  us  hope  we  have  made 
a  beginning  that  may  lead  to  something  better.  In 
God's  strength  you  are  trying  to  lift  the  hand  of  the 
poor  outcasts  to  lay  liold  on  the  advantages  which  are 
so  abundantly  placed  before  them  in  St.  Giles's,  The 
missionary  friend  from  Burmah,  Mrs.  IngoUs,  whom  I 
3* 


58 


THE  MISSING    I.INK. 


brought  to  meet  you  in  your  district  last  week,  was 
alike  astonished  and  delighted  with  those  noble  Baths, 
Wash-houses,  and  Model  Lodging-houses,  which  are 
the  glory  of  the  place.  How  she  longed  to  have  such 
institutions  among  her  heathen  abroad  I  What  sym- 
pathy she  felt  for  the  detail  of  your  ^rork  1  You  will 
never  forget  her  prayer  for  you,  and  she  will  never 
forget  St.  Giles's.  It  will  now  be  very  desirable  to 
think  over  the  many  ways  in  which  ladies  who  desire 
to  do  so  can  render  help  to  such  persons  as  yourself. 
It  seems  that  you  feel  there  is  room  for  three  or  four 
more  agents  of  your  own  order  in  your  immediate 
neighborhood.  The  Bible  Society  has  signified  its 
willingness  to  employ  such  when  the  right  women  can 
be  found  •  and  as  it  is  a  position  in  which  those  who 
undertake  it  must  be  willing  to  '  endure  hardness,'  I 
should  like  each  individual  to  go  round  with  you  for 
a  week,  to  see  if  she  can  bear  the  rough  with  the 
smooth." 

The  last  suggestion,  practical  though  it  might  seem, 
and  willing  as  "  Marian"  at  first  appeared  to  meet  it, 
was  not  in  practice  found  possible.  The  people  ex- 
pecting a  quiet  visit  from  the  good  woman  in  whom 
they  had  begun  to  place  confidence,  resented,  she  said, 
any  perpetual  introduction  to  strange  faces,  and  asked 
"if  they  were  going  to  be  made  a  puppet-show  of?" 
It  was  not,  besides,  a  very  extraordinary  phase  of 


LIFE   IN   THE   SEVEN    DIALS. 


59 


human  nature,  especially  as  self-educated,  if  Marian 
liked  to  be  "Marian"  alone,  and  did  not  fancy  that 
any  one  could  do  her  work  in  her  way  but  herself. 
The  power  of  individual  action,  and  that  of  training 
others  to  the  same,  except  as  it  may  be  by  the  force  of 
example,  are  not  often  found  combined  in  the  same 

person. 

Detailed  reports  of  the  work,  therefore,  such  as  the 
above,  in  the  Magazine— "The  Book  and  its  Missions"— 
continued  from  month  to  month,  were  made  chiefly 
instrumental  in  planting  similar  agency  in  districts 
beyond  St.  Giles's.  To  another  such  it  is  now  time 
that  v/6  introduce  our  readers. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  BIBLE-WOMAN  AMONG  THE  DUST-flEAPS. 


The  contents  of  every  dust-bin  in  this  vast  London, 
a  "  province  covered  with  houses,"  arc  carried  period- 
ically away  to  some  great  receptacle,  and  few  of  us 
even  think  what  becomes  of  that  which  we  call  the 
"refuse"  of  our  families.  The  dustman  receives  his 
small  gratuity  from  each  householder  ;  and  collecting 
from  as  many  dust-bins  as  will  make  him  a  load  for 
his  cart,  he  demands  another  shilling  at  the  gate  of 
the  Paddington  wharfs,  as  he  deposits  it  within  their 
precincts. 

The  monstrous  heaps,  when  amassed,  are  to  be  sifted 
and  disposed  of,  their  contents  sorted,  and  carried 
away  in  separate  baskets.  We  can  offer  but  a  slight 
notion  of  the  medley  of  which  they  are  composed. 

A  dust-heap  of  this  kind  is  often  very  valuable  to 
the  contractor,  and  a  large  one  is  said  to  be  worth 
from  four  to  five  thousand  pounds.  Of  course,  its 
chief  constituent  element  is  cinders,  mixed  with  bits 
of  coal,  from  the  carelessness  or  waste  of  thousands  of 

[GOJ 


SEPS9,/;^ 


AMONG  THE   DUST-HEAPS. 


61 


servants,  which  the  soarclicrs  and  sorters  pick  out  of 
the  heap,  to  be  sold  fortliwitli.  Tlie  largest  and  best 
of  the  cinders  also  are  selected  for  the  use  of  laundress- 
es and  braziers,  whose  purposes  tliey  answer  better 
than  coke.  The  far  greater  remainder  is  called  hrceze, 
because  it  is  the  portion  left  after  the  wind  has  blown 
the  cinder-dust  from  it,  through  large  upright  iron 
sieves,  held  and  shaken,  elbow  high,  by  the  women 
who  stand  in  the  heap,  whilst  men  throw  up  the  stuff 
into  the  sieves.  TMe  h'eeze^  and  ashes  also,  are  sold 
to  brick-makers,  who  will  sometimes  contract  for 
15,000  or  16,000  chaldrons  of  either  in  one  order. 
The  ashes  are  mixed  with  the  clay  of  the  bricks,  .rnd 
the  hreeze  is  used  as  fuel  to  burn  between  their  lake's. 

But- the  heap  is  not  all  breeze  and  ashes  ;  it  includes 
likewise  "  software  and  hardware,"  the  former  c  im- 
prising  all  vegetable  and  animal  matters — everything 
that  will  decompose  :  these  are  carried  off  as  soon  as 
possible,  to  be  employed  for  manure.  Stale  fish  and 
dead  cats  come  into  this  list ;  the  skins  of  the  latter 
being  stripped  off  by  the  women  who  sift,  which  they 
can  sell  for  fourpence  or  sixpence,  according  to  the 
color  :  white  is  the  most  in  request. 

But  the  "  hardware"  does  not  merely  mean  broken 
pottery,  though  of  this  there  is  abundance  :  some  of  it 
is  matched  and  mended  by  the  women  who  find  it,  and 
it  then  becomes  their  perquisite  ;  the  rest,  with  oyster 


62 


THE   MISKINiJ    LINK. 


shells,  is  sold  to  make  new  roads.  Hardware,  how- 
ever, in  the  dust-heaps,  means  almost  every  tiling  :  rags, 
whieh  go  to  the  paper-makers  ;  bones,  to  the  bone- 
boilers  ;  old  iron,  brass  and  lead,  to  salesmen  c  i  those 
metals  ;  broken  glass,  to  old  glass  shops  ;  old  carpets, 
old  mattresses,  old  boxes,  old  pails,  old  baskets,  broken 
tea-boards,  candlesticks,  fenders,  old  silk  handker- 
chiefs, knives  and  salt-cellars,  not  forgetting  the  old 
shoes,  which  go  away  in  bushels  to  the  "  translators," 
or  people  who  turn  old  into  new  ohes  ;  the  dust-heaps, 
therefore,  making  work  continually  for  our  friends  in 
St.  Giles's.  Everything  that  the  householder  has 
thought  "  not  worth  mending,"  and  has  decreed  to  "  go 
along  with  the  dust,"  besides  many  a  wasteful  addition 
that  the  mistress  never  knows,  from  mansions  where 
extravagance  and  recklessness  bear  rule. 

Rings,  brooches,  silver  spoons,  forks^  and  golden 
sovereigns,  occasionally  also  get  carted  away  with  the 
dust. 

But  now  to  turn  our  attention  to  the  human  beings, 
and  especially  to  the  women,  who  are  employed  as 
sorters  and  sifters.  Many  a  lady  at  her  parlor  win- 
dow had  seen  tliem  pass,  from  their  hours  of  toil  to 
their  ill-kept  homes,  in  almost  savage  guise,  with 
*'  dust  and  fine  ashes  filling  up  all  the  ^vrinkles  of  their 
faces  " — ^with  their  apron  full  of  cinders,  perhaps  on 
their  heads,  and  their  gown  turned  up  so  as  to  carry 


AMONG   THK    DUST-HEAPS. 


63 


another  heap  of  wood  or  paper,  or  whatever  was  their 
day's  finding  besides.  Sometimes  tlieir  leet  encased 
in  navvies'  Ijoots, — and  hands  and  arms  the  color  of 
aslies, — would  scarcely  be  distinguishable  from  the 
grimy  piece  of  carpet  tied  around  their  waist,  which 
they  wear  as  lliey  stand  in  the  heap,  to  protect  them 
from  the  scraping  of  the  cinders  ;  a  man's  old  coat  pos- 
sibly completing  the  rest  of  the  costume. 

And  what  are  the  homes  to  which  they  wend  their 
way  ?  Often  "  places  like  stables,"  where,  with  their 
children,  ravenous  for  the  evening  meal,  they  sit  down 
to  partake  of  it  with  nnwashen  hands,  and  with  no 
change  of  garments.  The  children's  home  during  the 
M  day  has  been  in  the  streets  or  on  the  stairs.     These 

people,  as  a  class,  are  very  subject  to  fever,  for  they 
have  an  objection  to  open  windows;  and  their  filthy 
walls  are  guiltless  of  whitewash,  and  seldom  know  the 
painting  of  the  bright  sunbeam. 

They  pay  3s.  Gd.  a  week  rent  for  their  rooms.  The 
perquisi-tes  they  bring  home  with  them  are  manifold. 
The  kind  city  missionary  of  the  district  once  went  in 
to  visit  an  old  man,  who,  being  bed-ridden,  asked  him 
to  stir  the  saucepan  on  his  fire  ;  and  as  he  observed, 
in  doing  so,  "  that  it  was  a  savory  mess,"  the  reply  was, 
"  Well,  mayhap  you  might  not  like  to  eat  it,  sir  ;  it  is 
some  bones  well  washed,  and  some  potatoes  and  onions 
my  wife  picked  off  the  heap.    It's  very  well  for  me." 


m 


■'"^^ 


64 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


As  their  wages  are  only  one  shilling  a  day,  they  are 
very  glad  to  find  warmth  from  the  supply  of  cinders 
and  coals  whic'i  they  amass  during  the  day.  Paper 
and  wood  also  Vjelong  to  them,  as  much  as  they  can 
carry,  with  corks  of  bottles,  by  which  alone  some  will 
say  "  they  find  themselves  in  shoe-leather  ;"  pill-boxes 
and  gallipots  are  also  their  lawful  property,  and  a 
poor  woman  had  once  the  pleasure  of  contributing  a 
dozen  of  the  latter  as  a  gift  to  the  Samaritan  Hospital, 
where  the  poor  often  seek  medicine  or  ointment,  and 
have  nothing  in  which  to  toke  it  home.  The  finder 
of  any  jewelry  or  other  small  valuable  is  also  very  apt 
to  pocket  that  vouch  she  may  have  discovered.  A 
banker's  cheque  for  a  considerable  sum  was  found  in 
one  of  the  dust-heaps — it  was  on  Harris  and  Farquhar 
—in  1847. 

There  is  a  great  difference  among  individuals  even 
in  this  rough  class  of  women.  Some  have  a  gay  taste, 
and  after  being  out  all  day  on  the  heap,  in  the  wet, 
will  spend  the  evening  in  dancing  and  drinking. 
These  frequently  sleep  away  their  Sabbath  days,  and 
are  of  the  number  who,  on  one  or  two  holidays  in  the 
year,  such  as  Whitsuntide,  will  be  seen  in  flaunting 
ribbons  and  bright  dresses,  which,  on  their  return  from 
their  frolics,  will  go  to  the  pawnshop,  to  remain  till 
a  similar  occasion  shall  call  for  their  use.  The  hus- 
bands and  wives  have  separate  purses,  and  keep  what 


AMONG  THE   DUST-HEAPS. 


66 


thoy  each  earn,  with  the  understand inp^  that  one  shall 
find  thi?,  and  the  otlier  tliat,  in  the  lioiusekccping,  such 
as  it  is,  and  miserable  tlierchy  is  the  lot  of  the  poor 
children.  The  missionary  says,  vviien  they  become 
sober  and  thinking  people,  the  woman  is  in  general 
intrusted  with  ail  the  money. 

Many  a  lady  at  her  parlor  window,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Hyde  Park,  had  seen  the  dust-women  pass, 
day  by  day,  in  their  uncouth  guise  ;  but  to  the  heart  of 
om  especially  God  had  sent  home  a  paper  in  the  little 
periodical  before  mentioned,  called  "  A  Mission  for 
Christian  Ladies ;"  and  this,  in  connection  with  thf 
details  of  Marian's  work  in  St.  Giles's,  caused  her  to 
seek  personal  communication  with  the  editor,  and  to 
form  the  resolution  to  endeavor  to  elicit  similar  agency 
for  Paddington.  Her  efforts  were  successful,  and  a 
"  Martha  "  was  ere  long  set  to  work  among  the  dust- 
heaps.  The  incidents  of  the  choice  may  be  found  inter- 
esting, and  are  given  in  connection  with  a  report  of 
the  good  woman's  first  month's  labor  in  this  new 
locality. 

March  11th,  1858. 

We  know  you  are  desirous  to  receive  particulars  of 
the  commencement  of  our  essay  in  Female  Colportage. 
The  difficulty  of  finding  a  suitable  agent  for  this  kind 
of  work  is  greater  than  at  first  appears ;  and  still  I 
could  not  doubt  that  there  must  be  some  poor  Chris- 


If 


i 


ii 


"^P' 


u 


66 


THE  MISSING  LINK. 


i: 


fl  i 


tiaii  person  in  this  neighborhood  who  might,  with  care- 
ful training  and  direction  bestowed  upon  her,  prove 
very  useful  and  valuable,  and  acquire  increasing  adap- 
tation to  ner  work  as  she  pursued  it. 

My  first  consultations  were  held  with  Mr.  Pearson, 
the  excellent  City  Missionary  of  the  district,  whose 
tweivv.i  years'  labor,  superintended  by  the  Rev.  James 
Strattan,  has  borne  '^dmirable  fruit,  especially  in  con- 
nection with  the  chapel  provided  for  canal  boatmen, 
stablemen,  carmen,  dustmen,  cabmen,  coal-heavers,  and 
wharf-laborers,  who  congregate  in  this  locality,  and 
make  it  specially  a  missionary  station.  A  Sunday- 
school,  a  Penny  Bank,  a  Sick  and  Provident  Club,  and 
a  Reading-room  are  all  now  prospering  under  Mr. 
Pearson's  fostering  help ;  but  he  has  long  seen  that 
some  ivomaniy  teaching  among  the  women,  and  espe- 
ciallv  aL  connected  with  a  Bible  mission,  would  be  of 
great  assistance  to  him  with  regard  to  his  own  work. 

By  the  aid  of  his  expeiience,  therefore,  the  good 
woman,  Martha  P.,  w?s  selected,  as  one  who,  though 
herself  very  poor,  had,  to  the  extent  of  her  means, 
been  always  willing,  at  his  suggestion,  to  clean  a  room 
or  make  a  bed  for  a  neiq-hbor  in  sickness.  He  said  he 
believed  her  to  have  been  long  one  of  the  Lord  s  people, 
ready  and  willing  to  do  the  Lord's  work. 

Martha  having,  as  you  know,  paid  a  visit  to  Marian 
in  St.  Giles's,  also  went  rouud  with  the  colporter,  Mr. 


I 


iMONO   THE   DUST-HEAPS. 


67 


Shaw,  for  a  day  or  two,  to  observe  his  metliod  of 
seeking  subscribers  for  Bibles  among  the  degraded 
classes  who  surrounded  her  own  dwelling.  Having 
long  been  their  neighbor,  she  is  not  unacquainted  with 
their  habits  and  mode  of  life,  so  that  they  feel  more 
ready  to  trust  her  with  their  pence  than  a  scran ger. 

Martha's  own  full  experience  of  poverty  fits  her  to 
sympathize  at  once  with  her  poorest  neighbors.  The 
missionary  told  me  he  could  not  forget  the  day  he 
visited  their  home,  when  her  husband  was  recovering 
from  fever,  which  is  abundantly  prevalent  in  the  dis- 
trict. The  poor  man,  who  by  accident  had  injured  his 
hands,  and  also  his  feet,  in  his  calling  as  a  plasterer, 
answered  a  kind  word  of  congratulation  with,  "  Yes, 
sir,  I  am  much  better ;  I  am  so  hungry  now,  I  could 
eat  anything."  "  That  is  a  mercy,  is  it  not  ?"  said  the 
missionary  ;  to  which  the  reply  was,  "  Yes  ;  but  I've 
nothing  to  eat — and  yet  God  is  very  good/'  he  con- 
tinued. "  Don't  he  hear  prayer  quick  ?"  He  went  on 
to  explain  that  they  had  been  praying  earnestly  "  that 
God  would  be  pleased  either  to  send  them  food,  or 
damp  the  children's  appetites  ;  aiid  all  tliis  morning," 
he  added,  "  they  have  not  once  cried  for  bread." 

The  above  incident  occurred  some  seven  years  since. 
They  are  still  poor,  but  their  children  are  now  more 
off  their  hands.  In  all  their  recent  straits,  tliey  have,  by 
close  and  self-denying  management,  been  able  gener- 


IS 


68 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


ally  to  put  by  one  penny  a  week  in  the  savin n;s-bank, 
to  provide  for  still  more  pressing  wants  or  sickness  ; 
and  many  another  good  liabit  Martha  can  urge  on 
others,  by  experience  of  its  benefit  to  herself.  I  find 
her  very  active,  punctual  and  good-tempered,  with  a 
clear  head  in  keeping  her  account  of  the  Bible  money 
received  ;  so  that,  when  the  hour  for  ray  weekly 
superintendence  arrives,  I  have  never  been  delayed  by 
mistakes,  .inother  point  whicli  it  especially  gratifies 
me  to  observe  is  her  humility  and  self-d'strust.  She  is 
most  willing  to  conform  to  anything  that  I  sugges^, 
and  very  simple  and  earnest  in  her  dependence  on  God 
for  any  good  result  or  blessing  on  her  efforts.  At 
present  she  cannot  write,  but  takes  her  little  boy  with 
her  to  put  down  in  a  waste  book  sums  received,  which 
I  copy  for  her  in  the  collecting  book.  In  needlework 
and  the  plain  duties  of  housewifery  she  is  a  competent 
pattern.  So  much  for  the  character  of  my  "  Marian." 
And  now  as  to  her  mission  work. 

I  asked  her  how  she  felt  on  the  first  morning  she 
went  alone  to  her  district. 

"  All  of  a  t^'erable,"  was  the  answer  ;  "  but  I  just 
went  to  the  Lord  for  strength." 

"And  how  did  the  people,  on  the  whole,  receive 


you 


?" 


"  Some  shut  the  door  in  my  face,  and  said,  '  We  want 
bread  instead  of  Bibles  ;'  but  it  was  not  always  so.     I 


f  % 


AMONG  THE   DUST-HEAPS. 


69 


prayed  as  I  went  along,  and  the  Lord  heard.  A  great 
many  of  these  rough  people  cannot  read  ;  but  one  of 
them  bought  a  Bible,  and  said, '  Now  sh«  hoped  her 
husband  would  not  gc  so  much  to  the  beer-shop,  but 
stay  at  home  and  read  to  her.'  Another,  with  four 
children,  had  no  Bible,  and  her  husband,  a  tailor,  no 
work,  but  she  began  to  subscribe  for  a  fourpenny  Tes- 
tament. Another  woman,  when  I  invited  her  to  a 
place  of  public  worship,  said  '  she  had  no  clothes.' 
'  Oh,'  I  said,  '  never  mind  your  clothes.  You  have 
clothes  tiiough  to  go  out  to  buy  your  food,  and  you  can 
come  out  in  the  evening  to  worship  God.  He  will  look 
at  your  heart's  dress,  and  will  never  mind  what  you 
wear.'  She  asked  me  to  sit  down,  and  I  read  to  her  a 
part  of  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  St.  John  :  '  Let  not 
your  heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid.'  So  in 
that  there  was  strength  for  me  too.  She  listened 
attentively,  and  began  to  subscribe  for  a  tenpenny 
Bible  which  I  showed  her." 

It  was  on  the  25th  of  January,  1858 — that  day  of 
general  rejoicing  on  the  marriage  of  our  young  prin- 
cess— that  Martha  began  to  invite  her  poor  neighbors 
to  devote  the  pence  too  often  squandered  in  giu  to  the 
purchase  of  the  precious  Word  of  God,  which  is  the 
*'  water  of  life"  to  all  who  drink  of  its  refreshing 
streams.  For  the  first  month,  it  was  arranged  that 
she  should  collect  only  tliree  days  a  week, — five  hours 


11 


m 


^  'i^.-  JJiw 


h  i 


70 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


each  day  ;  and  in  that  first  month  she  obtained  forty- 
two  subscribers  for  Bibles  and  Testaments,  and  paid 
me  £1  138.  2d.  towards  the  purchase. 

From  the  date  of  Monday,  the  22d  of  February,  she 
collected  every  day.  Slie  now  obtained  six  additional 
subscribers  among  the  poor  women  attending  the 
Motliers'  Meetings,  held  in  the  neighboring  school- 
room ;  and  four  were  also  found  among  the  poor  boys 
of  the  "  Shoe-black  Brigade,"  which  institution  is  only 
one  of  many  kindred  schemes  springing  daily  into 
extensive  usefulness,  from  the  active  exertion  and 
prayerful  efforts  of  the  managers  of  the  Boatmen's 
Chapel.  ' 

Up  to  the  date  of  my  present  letter  more  than  ninety 
subscribers'  names  for  Bibles  and  Test.xments  are  on 
her  book.    The  average  sale  increases  every  week. 

On  Wednesday,  March  3d,  I  thought  it  time  to  pro- 
pose the  self-clothing  club.  The  few  hints  dropped  in 
the  wharf  district  on  the  practicability  of  sucli  a  plan 
being  carried  into  effect,  were  received  with  sucli 
marked  approbation,  that  we  thought  it  had  better  be 
organized  at  a  little  social  tea  party,  to  whicli  the  very 
lowest  and  poorest  were  to  be  invited,  and  some  pieces 
of  material  displayed.  This  party  assembled  in 
Martha's  room ;  and  the  good  missionary  looked  in 
during  the  evening,  and  told  me  afterwards  that  the 
delight  of  these  poor  creatures,  at  such  an  opportunity 


li 

i?»  1 


AMONG  THE   DUST-HEAPS. 


71 


of  procuring  warm  and  tidy  clothing,  was  unbounded. 
Their  expression  of  joy  was  so  cliildish,  the  missionary 
seemed  able  to  compare  it  to  nothing  but  what  he  fan- 
cied a  party  of  New  Zealanders  would  exhibit  before 
they  were  civilized  by  Christianity.  Surely,  there  is 
something  very  affecting  in  this,  when  we  remember 
the  numbers  there  are  in  our  great  city  in  this  state  of 
semi-barbarism,  and  living  close  around  us  who  bask  in 
the  full  light  of  Gospel  privileges. 

Perhaps  Shaw  did  not  tell  you  of  a  little  incident 
which  occurred  in  his  second  round  with  Martha  in 
the  dust-wharf  district.  She  said  something  to  one 
woman,  in  a  deplorable  court,  about  the  plan  of  collect- 
ing their  pence  for  any  garments  they  required  ;  and 
the  woman  immediately  answered,  "What  a  good 
thing  that  will  be  for  us  !"  Whereupon,  Shaw,  fancy- 
ing she  might  be  anticipating  some  bonus,  said,  "  But 
you  know,  mis  cress,  you'll  have  to  pay  for  what  you 
receive,  and  to  help  to  make  it,  too  ; "  to  wliich  the 
woman  answered,  "  Ah  !  that  will  be  better  still,  for 
'twill  be  teaching  us  to  help  ourselves."  I  thought 
this  spontaneous  expression  of  opinion  very  satisfac- 
tory. Each  of  the  poor  women,  on  Wednesday  even- 
ing, became  a  willing  depositor  of  money  for  clothes. 
One  woman  said  she  had  once  saved  up  two  shillings 
towards  buying  a  gown,  but  her  children  were  crying 
for  bread,  and  she  was  obliged  to  break  into  this  little 


i 


i 


'-T 


! 


72 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


i> 


sum,  and  could  never  save  it  again.  Martha  was  al- 
most overcome  by  tlie  friendliness  and  joy  of  her  visit- 
ors. She  had  been  rather  tried  by  a  feeling  of  fear 
and  apprehension,  lest,  in  seeking  to  help  her  neigh- 
bors, they  should  dislike  her  interference,  and  look 
upon  her  with  distrust ;  but  it  proves  to  be  quite  the 
contra^  \  She  said  to  the  missionary, "  I  thought  they 
would  bb  ill  against  me,  but  you  see  here  they  are  all 
for  me.    It  is  surely  God's  doing." 

She  is  already  made  a  great  blessing  to  the  sick 
persons  on  the  district.  There  is  a  soothing  influence 
in  her  cheerful  smile  and  pleasant  voice,  which  cannot 
fail  to  reach  the  heart.  Asa  mother  myself,  I  feel  the 
charm  of  her  winning  way  of  speaking,  even  to  an  in- 
fant, and  her  sympathy  is  so  practical.  It  is  those 
who  have  lived  in  cellars,  and  been  starved  themselves, 
who  truly  know  how  to  feel  with  persons  in  similar 
circumstances.  May  God  shield  her  from  every  temp- 
tation to  vanity  and  self-conceit  I  No  one  would  call 
her  a  naturally  superior  woman,  like  **  Marian  ;"  but 
it  is  in  her  real  humility  and  entire  dependence  on  her 
Saviour's  strength  and  blessing  that  I  so  thankfully 
perceive  her  fitness  for  the  work. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  report  without  telling  you  of 
the  great  kindness  and  sympathy  of  feeling  shown  me 
by  my  personal  friends,  and  the  liberal  response  made 
to  my  appeal  for  pecuniary  assistance  to  carry  out  this 


f 


•  r 


AMONC;   THE    DUST-HEAPS. 


73 


clothing  plan,  etc.  Some  rf  those  at  a  distance  have 
most  generously  aided  me,  and  others  are  Christians 
with  whom  I  have  no  personal  acquaintance.  May 
they  all  have  the  happiness  of  knowing  that  this  effort 
for  the  help  of  their  poor  sisters  prospers,  under  God's 
blessing,  to  the  full  extent  that  they  could  desire. 

H.  G. 


I    > 


P 


4\ 


il 


ll 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FRESH  BEDS  FOR  THE  LONDON  POOR. 

The  plans  which  were  being  pursued  in  St.  Giles's, 
of  helping  the  people  to  help  themselves,  and  which 
had  arisen,  step  by  step,  out  of  the  eflforts  to  induce 
them  to  provide  themselves  with  Bibles,  took  root  also 
in  the  Dust-wharf  district*  A  long  list  of  subscrip- 
tions, all  unasked,  acknowledged  on  the  cover  of  "  The 
Book  and  its  Missions,"  testified  to  the  interest  which 
was  excited  for  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of 
the  poor  in  both  localities.  This  money  was  subscribed, 
not  to  pay  for  the  Bible  work,  which,  we  must  repeat, 
was  done  by  the  Bible  Society — but  for  addition  of 
salary  to  the  women,  for  the  domestic  part  of  their 
mission,  and  also  to  advance  materials,  whether  for 
clothing  of  various  kinds,  or  for  cheap  and  clean  bed- 
ding, of  which  the  poor  of  London  are  so  lamentably 
destitute. 

A  special  inquiry  into  the  latter  particular  was  at 
this  time  suggested  by  a  benevolent  medical  friend, 
Thos.  Mackern,  Esq.,  who  had,  in  his  professional  visits 

[74] 


FRESH  BEDS  FOR  THE  LONDON  POOR. 


75 


among  the  poor,  been  greatly  moved  to  sympathy  by 
witnessing  their  suflerings  from  cold  at  night.     IIo 
offered  from  his  own  purse  the  first  contribution  to- 
wards an  experimental  supply  of  cheap  beds,  to  be 
purchased  by  instalments.     On   investigation  it  was 
discovered  that  many  of  them  slept  on  a  heap  of  dirty 
rags  —  in  the  rags  also  of  their  day's  clothing,  and 
never  had  slept  in  a  bed.    They  never  rise  refreshed 
and  comforted  from  a  night's  rest,  but  begin  the  day 
with  an  early  dram,  often  for  the  lack  of  that  natural 
refreshment.    Yet  they  could,  it  was  evident,  be  in- 
duced to  purchase  a  good  tick  andfloch  bed  for  six  shil- 
lings, if  they  saw  it,  and  that  by  sixpence  at  a  time ; 
and  the  receipt  of  one  led  to  the  desire  for  the  purchase 
of  two  or  three  beds  for  each  family,  with  their  sum- 
mer's earnings.     Even  the  decent  poor  required  the 
opportunity  given  them  to  do  this  ;  and  the  easy  pur- 
chase of  a  Bible  first  showed  them  what  else  might  be 
done  in  the  same  way  towards  the  provision  of  their 
own  family  comforts.     That  which  it  was  a  habit  to 
spend  m  gin,  thus  began  to  be  turned  into  better 
channels. 

The  women  of  "Marian's"  district  presently  com- 
menced the  purchase  of  fifty  of  these  cheap  beds.  Her 
own  account  of  the  promise  of  this  experiment  was 
thus  given  soon  after  its  commencement.  She  had  been 
asked  by  her  Superintendent,  after  ten  months'  labor. 


i' 


■«■■(■ 


i.; 


76 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


what  hope  she  saw  for  her  people  from  her  own  in- 
creasing experience  amon"^  thorn,  and  the  following 
was  her  answer  : — 

"  There  is  hope  for  the  hopeless,  if  their  attention 
should  be  first  aroused  by  some  one  they  know  coining 
to  bring  them  God's  Book.  I  should  never  despair  of 
any  people,  after  what  I  have  seen  in  St.  Giles's.  The 
lowest  poor  have  come  to  be  what  they  are,  by  the 
mistake  of  supposing  they  were  too  bad  to  be  mended. 
They  drink  to  stupefy  their  misery  ;  and  their  money 
will  come  out  of  the  gin-shops,  if  other  things  are  not 
only  talked  about  but  put  before  them.  I  wondered  at 
the  influence  of  the  Loan  Saucepans,  and  at  the  will- 
ingness of  many  persons  to  begin  to  purchase  clothing, 
with  which  numbers  of  persons  in  my  district  are  be- 
come comfortably  provided  ;  but  now  the  *  ..cap  clean 
BEDS  seem  as  if  they  will  surpass  everything  else  in  the 
thoughts  they  will  kindle,  and  the  habits  they  will 
alter.  I  have  brought  £2  15s.  this  morning,  all  in 
sixpences,  paid  for  beds  only.  I  might  have  had  more 
than  as  much  again  ;  but  I  have  already  taken  180 
names,  and  am  now  come  to  ask  if  indeed  another  fifty 
beds  can  be  promised  before  more  names  are  taken. 
One  woman  said,  as  the  money  was  being  paid,  '  Nine- 
teen out  of  twenty  of  those  sixpences  would  have  gone 
for  gin  ;'  to  wliich  many  around  responded,  '  Ay,  that 
they  would ! "     Three  hundred  people  came  to  the 


: 


^ 


M 


PRESH  BEDS  FOR  THE  LONDON  POOR. 


77 


Mission-hall  last  night,  one  after  another,  and  from  all 
partrs, — Westminster,  Mary-le-ljonc,  Chelsea,  Clerken- 
well.  Mr.  G.  intends  to  have  a  board  painted  to  say 
that  no  a}>plicants  can  be  received,  except  from  St. 
Giles's." 

"The  hundred  beds  already  gone  out  arc  all  to 
persons  you  have  known  in  your  district,  arc  they  not  ?'' 

"  Ninety  of  the  number  are  to  persons  whom,  hav- 
ing visited  and  watched  through  the  winter,  I  myself 
knew  to  be  without  a  bed.  Tliey  have  often  spared 
the  penny  to  purchase  a  Bible  long  before  they  knew 
that  any  temporal  advantage  would  come  after  it. 
The  rest  I  have  allotted  to  some  Irish,  who  were 
honest  and  desirous  to  improve  their  condition,  which, 
you  will  remember,  ma'am,  you  particularly  wished, 
because  you  said  <£15  of  the  money  sent  for  St.  Gilos's, 
and  almost  the  foundation  of  the  fund,  came  from  an 
Irish  lady,  who  delighted  in  the  mission  of  the  book 
to  her  people.  I  met  the  Romish  canon  of  St.  Giles's 
in  one  of  the  rooms  this  week,  where  a  bed  had  been 
supplied,  and  he  spoke  very  kindly  to  me,  and  said, 
'  You  are  about  an  excellent  work  in  improving  the 
condition  of  the  people.'  I  said, '  You  know,  sir,  they 
pay  for  the  beds  themselves,  only  in  an  easy  way.' 
'  Yes,'  he  said, '  I  am  glad  of  it ;  and  1  am  glad  to 
perceive  they  have  an  opportunity  to  do  so,  without 
distinction  of  creed  or  countrv.'  " 


i 


■Hi 


78 


THE    MISSING    LINK. 


"  Do  the  rooms  become  cleaner  with  the  clean 
beds?" 

"  I  can  point  to  at  least  thirty  rooms  that  arc  not 
like  the  same  ;  and  I  should  scarcely  know  the  women 
for  the  same.  Some  of  their  floors  were  so  thick  with 
black  mud,  you  could  not  tell  there  were  boards  under- 
neath. A  man,  whose  wife  had  subscribed  for  a  bed, 
bought  a  birch-broom  to  give  his  floor  the  first  cleans- 
ing, and  then  came  the  hard  scrubbing  and  red -sand- 
ing. When  they  do  take  to  be  clean,  they  can  be  very 
clean  in  St.  Giles's,  and  they  like  to  have  the  floor 
like  a  gravel  walk  ;  and  then,  when  they  get  the  bed, 
you  should  hear  them  say,  *  Oh,  we  never  knew  what 
a  night's  rest  was  before  1'  It  does  me  good  to  hear 
the  mothers  exclaim, '  We  cannot  find  it  in  our  hearts 
to  put  our  children  to  sleep  on  the  rags  we  had  before. 
When  we  have  paid  for  this,  oh  1  if  we  may  but  have 
another,  and  another — but  then  we  shall  want  two 
rooms !' " 

"  Well,  thank  God,  we  have  shown  them  what  it  is 
in  their  own  power  to  do  for  themselves  ;  and  may 
His  blessing  rest  upon  the  extension  of  such  an 
agency  far  and  wide.  Are  any  of  them  buying  bed- 
steads?'' 

"  Yes ;  I  have  heard  of  half  a  dozen  ;  and  very 
many  more  will  certainly  do  so,  as  their  summer  earn- 
ings from  the  flowers  and  fruit  increase." 


I 


: 


FRESH  BEDS  FOR  THE  LONDON  POOR. 


79 


And  now  it  is  the  10th  of  June — a  sultry  morning  in 
London  and  every wlicre  else.  Perhaps,  after  all,  no 
region  is  much  cooler  than  the  shady  side  of  our  broad, 
well-watered  streets,  before  the  sun  attains  his  strength, 
and  pours  his  fervid  rays  centrally  down  on  the  tide 
of  human  life,  which  stays  not  for  heat  or  cold. 

The  early  cries  of  St.  Giles's  and  its  fraternity 
salute  our  ears,  and  presently  "  Marian,"  with  whom 
its  name  will  now  be  identified  to  our  readers,  steps 
into  the  parlor,  where  this  day  year  she  went  forth 
with  her  first  Bible  for  the  "  dens."  The  sum  of  her 
account  sold  is  now  1004  copies — 413  Bibles  and  591 
Testaments,  purchased  in  St.  Giles's  in  twelve  months, 
oy  the  penny  subscriptions  of  "  the  lowest  of  the  low," 
each  penny  called  for  once,  twice,  and  sometimes 
thrice,  by  the  patient  and  earnest  native  agent, 
chosen  from  among  themselves. 

Few  would  imagine  the  labor  that  it  has  cost  to 
collect  the  <£24  returned  for  their  Bibles  from  "  the 
wandering  folk,"  whose  life  is  mercifully  spent  out  of 
doors,  for  how  could  they  exist  otherwise  in  the  heart 
of  our  great  city  at  this  season  ?  A  year  ago  "  Marian" 
knew  little  of  the  circumstances  of  her  neighbors 
beyond  the  precincts  oi  her  own  court.  Noiv  she  has 
seen  their  ways,  their  means,  and  their  miseries, 
through  the  vagrant  summer  and  the  pinching  winter  ; 
she  has  become  a  mother  of  charity,  bv  various 


\\l 


80 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


:      lit 


li 


5 


il 


!  [ 


\i  1 


methods,  to  many  who  felt  they  never  had  one  before  ; 
and  in  carrying  them  the  mess..ge  from  God,  slie  has 
watchea  week  by  week  their  want  of  water,  and 
space,  and  pure  air ;  t^eir  want  of  cleanlincbs,  of 
clothing,  and  of  bodding. 

She  has  reported  simply  and  faithfully  to  her  Super- 
intendent, who  has  again  reported  to  the  lovers  of  the 
Boole  and  of  the  poor,  the  discoveries  made  by  this  its 
Home  Mission.  The  Lord  has  disposed  kind  hearts 
from  far  and  near,  not  to  cast  gifts  as  into  the  slough 
of  despond,  whi^'h  would  never  have  mended  it,  but 
to  advance  the  means  to  help  the  mothers  of  St.  Giles's 
to  help  themselves  ;  thoy  repaying,  with  an  honesty 
and  a  punctuality  which  have  done  credit  to  their 
English,  yes,  and  to  their  Irish  hearts,  with  the  earn- 
ings of  the  summe'*,  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  the 
advances  of  the  winter  ;  so  that  the  benefits  of  a 
temporal  kind  they  have  received  are  becoming  pur- 
chases of  their  own  (like  the  B/hfps),  for  which,  never- 
theless, they  express  tenfold  the  gratitude  they  have 
ever  bestowed  for  pure  rifts. 

Marian's  Clothinji^  and  Bedding  Clul)s  for  these 
"  lowest  of  the  low  "  wt'-  not  fully  organized  till  the 
late  autumn  and  the  winter  of  1857,  since  which  the 
people  have  paid  to  her  £35  by  instalments,  towards 
an  outlay  of  £63  for  the  provision  of  250  beds,  and 
X16  for  garments  of  various  kindii,  making  a  total  of 


i 


FRESH  BEDS  FOR  THE  LONDON  POOR. 


81 


about  X50  saved  during  the  first  lialf-year's  experiment 
of  turning  aside  this  money  from  tlio  gin-shop,  into 
whoso  current  of  liquid  fire  it  would  otherwise  cer- 
tainly have  flowed.     Yes,  and  not  only  this   money, 
but  much  more,  for  tlie  person  who  has  begun  to  save 
for  a  bed,  when  that  has  been  obtained,  has  almost  in- 
variably tried  to  save  for  something  else — for  a  bedstead, 
for  sheets,  and  for  a  little  crockery,  a- 1 1  even  for  a  picture 
on  the  wall.     One  woman  left  off  beer  for  a  month 
that  she  might  get  the  bed,  and  "  in  that  month  I  liave 
learned,"  she  said,  "  to  do  without  it  ;  and  if  I  can  do 
so  now,  111  this  roasting  weather,  I  can  do  j-o  always.'' 
But,  oh  !    the  revelations  from  St.   Giles's  during 
UiIh  time  of  almost  torrid  sunshine.     The  beds  have 
done  wonders  to  induce  the  keeping  clean  of  many 
rooms,   but  in   numbers  of  others   the   inmates  can 
never  lie  down  to  sleep  ;  and  after  trying  to  do  so,  the 
close  "  den  ''  is  forsaken  during  the  live-long  night  for 
the  pavement  and  the  door-ste;\  and  tliis  even  by  re- 
spectable artisans.     Nothing  but  pulling  down  many 
of  the  houses  would  exterminate  tlie  vermin.     These, 
and  the  foul  odors,  are  alike  the  almost  invincible 
hinderances  at  this  time  in  the  way  of  the  Colporters, 
and  of  all  who  visit  the  London  poor  at  this  season  of 
the  year.     The  smells  cannot  be  forgotten  when  once 
imbibed,  and  they  are   indeed   deadly  poison.      We 
have  long  made  grand  streets,  and  built  princely  public 
4* 


m:'  il 


lilt 


i! 


f! 


ii 


1:1 


tiU" 


i 


82 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


oflSces ;  but  we  are  only  just  beginning  to  think  of 
England's  Public  Fountains,  and  well-drained  and 
ventilated  dwellings  for  the  poorer  classes  of  our  groat 
cities.  Marian's  continued  report  concerning  her 
people  is,  that  they  do  not  want  relief,  but  provision 
for  their  rightful  and  natural  wants,  of  which,  as  a 
monej'-earning  and  industrious  race,  they  will  be  will- 
ing to  take  advantage.  The  industrious  in  every  class 
can,  in  general,  earn  sufficient  for  their  own  support ; 
and  tlie  only  true  aid  that  can  be  rendered  to  thera  is 
that  whicli  helps  them  to  help  themselves,  though  the 
doo  s  of  sickness,  sorrow,  and  extraordinary  need  are 
always  standing  open  in  a  world  of  sin,  through 
which  the  bounty  of  the  upper  classes  may  wisely  and 
legitimately  find  entrance. 


If 


I 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A   MIDSUMMER   FETE   IN    ST.   GILES'S. 

"  Marian  "  has  a  tea-party  to-night,  the  7th  of  July, 
but  it  is  not  one  of  her  old  kind  ;  not  half  a  dozen 
women  from  the  "  dens,"  who  had  washed  their  gowns 
and  caps  to  pay  a  visit,  perhaps  for  the  first  time  in 
their  lives,  to  a  quiet,  clean  room,  where  they  were  to 
learn  to  work,  and  to  listen  to  her  reading  from  the 
Book. 

Still,  it  is  the  Book  that  brings  them  together.  It 
is  a  party  given  to  tlie  Bible  subscribers  by  the  subscrib- 
ers to  the  St.  Giles's  Fund,  who  have  been  the  readers 
of  "  The  Book  and  its  Missions "  during  the  last 
twelve  months.  Out  of  the  1004  persons  to  whom 
"  Marian  "  liad  in  that  space  of  time  delivered  "  the 
Holy  Word  of  God,"  she,  in  conjunction  with  her 
superintending  lady,  liad  invited  about  forty  to  par- 
take of  a  somewhat  more  bountiful  repast  in  one  of 
the  large  rooms  at  the  Broad  street  Ragged  School 
and  Refuge,  which  was  kindly  and  gratuitously  lent 
for  the  purpose. 

Six  o'clock  was  the  hour  named,  and  as  the  clock 

(83) 


m 


m 


i> 


Illi 


84 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


struck,  the  guests  began  to  arrive  and  seat  themselves 
quietly  on  both  sides  of  the  long  tables  covered  with 
white  cloths,  i)laced  up  each  side  of  the  room.  They 
had  themselves  previously  brought  a  voluntary  contri- 
bution to  embellish  the  feast — which,  though  there  are 
no  gardens  in  St.  Giles's,  it  was  in  their  power  to  do, 
as  a  flower-selling  people — jugs  of  stocks,  roses,  pinks, 
and  pansies,  which  took  our  hearts  out  to  country 
cottage  doors  ;  and  two  glass  vases  of  Marian's  own 
were  filled  with  regal  white  lilies,  which  might, 
among  the  Romanists,  have  done  honor  to  -'  Our 
Lady.^' 

On  the  high  window-ledges  sparkled  balsams,  ger- 
aniums, and  fuchsias,  which  were  gladly  lent  for  the 
occasion  also  by  the  partakers  of  the  treat  ;  and  more 
lovely  still,  as  a  product  of  tlie  spontaneous  gratitude 
of  the  Seven  Dials,  on  a  small  table  whicli  connected 
the  two  long  ones,  lay  half  a  dozen  bouquets,  which 
might  have  been  the  envy  of  Covent  Garden,  and 
which,  we  were  told,  were  "  for  the  ladies  who  had 
been  so  kind  to  them."  When  one  thought  of  '•  Church 
Lane,"  and  Marian  told  us  these  had  been  made  there, 
and  that  no  one  would  say  who  had  made  them — "  it 
was  the  oflering  from  all  " — our  hearts  were  touched  ; 
and  considering  ourselves  but  as  the  local  repres«mta- 
tives  of  a  far  wider  circle,  wo  ofler  to  our  subscribers 
this  testimony  from  tlie  hoiu't. 


H\ 


m 


A    MIDSUMMER    FETE    IX   ^T.    (JILES'S. 


85 


We  wish  they  could  liave  seen  tlie  looks  of  pleasure 
from  tlic  givers  as  these  bou(]uet.s  were  taken  up  and 
admired.  Water-lilies  or  choice  white  roses  formed 
the  centre,  encircled  by  scarlet  geraniums,  heliotropes, 
mignonette,  calceolarias,  and  all  delicate  and  sweet- 
smelling  additions,  surrounded  by  a  bordering  of  lace 
paper. 

The  flowers  will  not  Hve  forever,  but  the  feeling 
that  brought  them  shall  not  be  forgotten  till  "  Church 
Lane,"  as  it  is,  is  swept  from  the  earth  ;  till  its  rags 
overhead  no  more  darken  the  sunshine  ;  till  on  the 
site  of  its  gloomy  dens  rise  wholesome  dwellinirs  ; 
till  the  fountain  adorns  its  entrance,  and  the  Book  of 
God  is  tlie  guide  of  every  home. 

There  is  not  a  room  tlere  now  into  which  the 
Bible-woman  cannot  find  access  ;  and  manv  a  reformed 
woman  she  has  bi\>ught  out  of  tluit  locality  to  find 
lodgin<r  elsewhere. 

Look  around  now  at  our  guests  ;  tliey  are  an  out- 
door folk  We  only  gave  them  three  days'  notice 
of  our  t^a-meeting,  so  tliey  have  had  no  time  for 
special  preparation.  You  see  tliem  as  they  are :  women 
who  em  as  if  they  Lad  known  rough  usage  ;  whose 
faces  look  as  if  they  kad  once  been  in  the  school  of 
tl«e  fisi  and  tihe  stick,  and  wlio,  perhaps,  have  often 
deserved  it  vat  who  are  now  desirous  of  leading  a 
new  ""ife — who  have  heard  of  sometliing  better.    They 


■■'i 


U 


86 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


!i 


have  brought  their  twenty  babies  who  could  not  be  left 
at  home,  and  we  have  seventy  or  eight) ,  rather  than 
forty  mothers  ;  but  our  provision  is  on  an  elastic 
scale.  They  always  approve  of  Marian's  arrange- 
ments, and  she  "  likes  to  provide  things  of  the  best." 
So  they  turn  contentedly  to  their  tea  and  cake,  and 
*'  plenty  of  bread  and  butter,"  and  tell  us  "  they  are 
so  very  happy  ;  it  is  so  nice  to  be  waited  upon  by 
ladies."  Before  they  began,  they  were  led  by  Mr.  Lee 
to  sing  a  prayer  for  blessing,  which  they  did  very 

nicely  : 

"  Be  present  at  our  table,  Lord.'' 

And  at  the  close, — 

"  "We  thank  thee,  Lord,  for  this  our  food," 

All  being  fully  satisfied,  the  tables  and  tea-things 
were  quickly  cleared  away  by  the  aid  of  three  or 
four  handy  girls ;  the  forms  were  turned  ;  and,  almost 
before  they  knew  it,  these  women,  many  of  them  so 
lately  fierce,  wild  scolds,  were  seen  willingly  seated 
with  their  babies,  to  listen  to  the  lively  addresses  of 
various  friends  belonging  to  different  congregations 
of  Christians  in  the  neighborhood,  and  to  some  from 
afar.  It  was  the  first  time  that  it  had  been  found 
possible  to  gather  them  in  any  numbers,  and  to  seat 
them  in  order,  as  their  habit  had  been  to  pass  in 
and  out  on  the  Clothing  Club  night,  not  seeming  to 
think  it  worth  while  to  sit  down. 


Il 


1  I 


A   MIDSUMMER    FETE    IN   ST.    GILES's. 


87 


1 


The  Rev.  James  Wilson,  from  Aberdeen,  was  there. 
He  and  his  lady  have  for  seven  years  past  been 
accomplishing,  with  the  aid  of  other  friends,  and  in 
the  strength  of  God,  similar  tra'jsformations  in  the 
North,  and  he  was  quite  at  home  with  our  women  of 
St.  Giles's.  Professor  Martin,  who  accompanied  him, 
expressed  himself  much  struck  with  the  first  element 
in  the  present  reform — that  "of  beginning  with  the 
Bible."  He  said  "  he  meant  to  carry  that  idea  to 
Scotland." 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Phillips,  late  Jubilee  Secretary 
of  the  Bible  Society,  next  told  some  stories,  which 
were  listened  to  with  interest,  about  the  scarcity,  in 
past  time,  of  the  Bible  in  Wales.  One,  of  a  poor 
woman,  who  walked  forty  miles  to  get  the  Book,  and 
then  paid  for  it  all  she  had — two  shillings,  and  six 
pairs  of  stockings  of  her  own  knitting  ;  and  the  con- 
trast to  this  scarcity  was  easily  depicted  in  referring 
to  the  cheap  Bibles,  for  which  the  whole  assembly  had 
subscribed,  and  which  could  not  be  sold  at  the  price 
except  by  a  Bible  Society.  Mr.  Phillips  being  Welsh, 
and  a  Bible  agent  especially  for  the  Welsh,  attracted 
some  sympathy  from  his  compatriots  in  the  company, 
two  of  whom,  as  he  left  the  room,  bade  him  "no.9 
dau'clt^  (good  night),  with  much  fervor,  in  their  own 
tongue. 

Thereafter  followed  several  friends  (and  each,  as  it 


i 


'i  ■  1 


i 


' 


88 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


seemed,  met  with  individual  welcome),  who  described 
to  the  eager  audience  the  large  colored  diagrams  or 
pictures  on  the  walls,  whicli  are  publislied  by  the  Edu- 
cational Union,  in  illustration  of  the  "  Book  and  its 
Htoiy,"  and  to  which  all  eyes  were  directed  with  pleased 

inquiry  : — "  The  Ancient  Scribe  writing  the  Manuscript 
Copy  of  the  Book;"  "  Wiclif  declaring  before  the 
A.  'lop  that  '  its   truth  should  prevail ; '  "  "  The 

Bible  Chained  to  the  Church  Pillar  ;"  "  Luther  finding 
it  in  the  Erfurt  Library  ;"  "  The  search  for  the  New 
Testaments  under  the  floor  at  Cambridge ;"  "  Jehoiakim 
burning  the  Roll — the  first  destroyer  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture ;"  and  the  "  Burning  of  Bibles,"  at  a  later  day, 
"  at  St.  Paul's  Cross."    Time  failed  to  explain  them  all. 

J.  Hampden  Fordham,  Esq.,  one  of  the  parent  com- 
mittee of  the  Bible  Society,  and  well  known  in  con- 
nection with  Ragged  Schools,  added  some  welcome 
words  on  the  Bible  being  the  Book  for  all^  and  a  pre- 
cious Book  to  the  poor — the  word  of  Him  who  said, 
"The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  hath  anointed  me  to  preach 
the  Gospel  to  the  poor." 

And  thus,  by  aid  of  various  kind  helpers,  the  time 
passed  swiftly  away,  till,  true  to  his  promise,  the  Rev. 
Anthony  Thorold,  the  beloved  Rector  of  the  parish, 
came  in  to  close  the  evening  with  a  few  words  of 
exhortation,  as  he  had  opened  it  by  prayer.  It  was 
his  first  introduction  to  many  faces  there,  though  he 


i 


A}: 


py*-^--* 


A   MIDSUMMER   FETE   IN   ST.    (JILES's. 


89 


recognized  others  present  as  having  recently  accom- 
panied him  for  a  day's  fresh  air,  among  four  hundred 
of  his  parishivoners,  to  Eritli.  His  most  appropriate 
and  simple,  yet  spirited  address  won  every  heart,  and 
showed  how  thoroughly  he  had  identified  himself  with 
this  Bible  Mission  to  the  lowest  of  his  parishioners — 
not  so  much  ecclesiastically,  as  he  did  as  a  Christian 
man.  He  told  the  people  liow  he  sympathized  with  the 
effort  made  to  help  them  to  help  themselves,  whether 
to  obtain  the  Bible  or  clean  clothes  and  beds — how  he 
desired  to  encourage  them  still  further  to  do  this — 
how  he  delighted  in  whatever  brought  them  to  know 
and  love  the  Book — and  how  he  should  now  look 
to  see  many  of  them  at  his  Monday  evening  service, 
held  in  their  own  precincts,  especially  for  the  poor, 
when  he  should  rejoice  to  tell  them  of  the  love  of 
Christ,  who  died  for  them. 

He  said  he  had  seen  the  providing  of  beds,  though 
apparently  a  common-place  idea,  to  be  nevertliclivM  i-o 
important  that  he  had  himself  provided  a  second  dep6t 
for  those  articles,  and  had  sold  a  great  many,  and  thflt 
in  the  winter  he  intended  to  "open  a  shop,"  An.,  f{il> 
blankets  and  sheets,  to  be  procured  \iy  liiHfnlnieiitfl—  H 
statement  which  elicited  great  applause.  He  wIbIiij/I 
them  never  to  forget  that  the  Bible  had  \ihit\ii\il  ||H 
together,  and  that  now,  na  women's  work  amoUg 
women  had  secured  this  communication,  ho  |iil<a(pf| 


in 


I     I 

I 


90 


THE   MIS8IN(J    LINK. 


\ 


i 


they  would  all  join  him  again  in  an  earnest  prayer 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  miglit  conic  and  lill  every 
heart,  and  accomplish  in  us  wiiat  is  far  beyond  the 
power  of  man  or  woman  to  do,  viz.,  "  take  of  tlie 
things  of  Christ,  and  show  them  unto  us,"  to  tlio  re- 
demption of  our  souls. 

The  meeting  then  broke  up,  and,  as  the  people  re- 
tired, they  expressed  universal  satisfaction,  and  several 
of  them  said  they  should  accept  Mr.  Thorold's  invita- 
tion to  his  Monday  evening  service. 

It  was  a  very  pleasing  feature  of  the  evening,  that 
as  many  of  the  Female  Bible  Missionaries  as  it  was 
possible  to  assemble  were  included  in  the  party,  and 
helped  to  make  the  tea.  Owing  to  the  short  notice 
they  were  not  all  there  ;  the  representatives  of  Spital- 
lields,  Clerkenwell,  and  Paddington,  were  missing ; 
but  Westminster,  Somer's  Town,  Gray's  Inn  Lane,  and 
Islington  sent  their  "  Esther,"  and  ''  Charlotte,"  and 
"  Lydia,"  and  "  Anna,"  to  assist  "  Marian"  at  her  Mid- 
summer Fete. 


1 


CHAPTER  VIII 


f"  !l 


CLERKENWELL   AND   THE   BIBT-E-WOMAN. 


The  close  of  our  last  chapter  pointed  to  new  sta- 
tions for  Female  Bible  Missions — vast  fields  of  crowd- 
ed humanity. 

Six  hundred  years  ago  that  portion  of  London's 
heart  now  called  Clerkenwell  was  a  green  and  pleas- 
ant country  spot,  famed  for  numerous  springs  and 
wells,  which  were  places  of  resort  on  holidays.  When 
Clerkenwell-green  was  really  a  green,  instead  of  a 
stony  triaij/le,  the  Priory  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem 
arose  in  that  age  on  its  -outli  side,  and  the  Nunnery 
of  St.  Mary  on  the  north.  V  fine  open  country  spread 
around  the  rising  ground  o  which  these  monastic  es- 
tablishments were  built,  on  all  sides  but  the  south, 
where  lay  the  city.  The  landscape  wa»  varied  with 
vineyards  and  meadows ;  springs  and  rivulots  de- 
scended from  wooded  hills  and  uplands,  and  w.itered 
vales  of  luxuriant  verdure.  Now  that  the  country  has 
been  swallowed  up  of  the  town,  it  is  refreshing  to 

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WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


92 


THE  MISSING    LINK. 


escape,  if  only  in  thought,  from  the  dust  and  smoke  of 
the  "  million-peopled  city,"  and  to  remember  the  olden 
time. 

The  rural  passed,  by  degrees,  into  the  suburban,  and 
in  1617  a  number  of  fine  houses  had  been  built  in  tlic 
district,  which  were  inhabited  by  persons  of  rank  and 
fashion.  In  another  century,  fashion  took  its  dcnar- 
ure  further  west;  and  in  yet  another,  the  neig  or- 
hood  became  celebrated  as  the  peculiar  abode  of 
WATCHMAKERS ;  aud  that  wondrous  little  machine, 
which  passes  through  more  than  one  hundred  hands  to 
its  completion,  bade  "  its  escapement  makers,  engine 
turners,  fusee  cutters,  springers,  finishers,  face  and  dial 
makers,"  and  all  its  train  of  contributors,  find  their 
homes  in  each  other's  vicinity — in  this  same  Clerken- 
well. 

The  population  of  this  district  was,  in  1852,  more 
than  64,0o0  persons,  and  of  these  between  9000  and 
10,000  were  employed  in  the  watch,  clock,  and  jewel- 
ry trade.  The  attendance  at  public  worship  on  the 
census  Sunday,  in  1851,  was  proportionally  smaller  in 
Clerkenwell  than  in  any  of  the  other  thirty-six  dis- 
tricts into  which  London  was  divided  for  the  purposes 
of  the  census  ;  and  we  regretted  to  hear,  at  the  Bible 
House,  that  there  had  been  no  Bible  /Society  Auxiliary 
in  Clerkenwell  since  the  year  1850.  An  auxiliary  had 
been    established   in  1835,  which,  during  the  fifteen 


■m 


OLERKENWELL  AND  THE   BIBLE-WOMAN. 


93 


years  of  its  existence,  accomplished  a  sale  of  4808 
copies ;  but  this,  in  1849,  dwindled  down  to  merely 
seventeen  in  the  year.  The  institution  was  soon  after- 
wards pronounced  "  defunct,"  which  leaves  the  infer- 
ence to  be  drawn,  without  doubt,  that  whatever  may 
have  been  the  distribution  made  from  any  sources  of 
private  benevolence — or,  more  recently,  at  St.  James's 
Church,  by  the  zeal  of  the  Rev.  R.  Maguire,  the  new 
Incumbent — a  large  Bible  work,  and  one  much  needed, 
has  at  once  to  be  recommenced  in  Clerkenwell.      it-?  r 

Encouraged  by  the  successful  exertions  of  the  female 
Bible  missionary  in  St.  Giles's  during  the  last  ten 
months,  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  have 
been  willing  to  authorize  the  careful  selection  and 
superintendence,  by  suitable  ladies,  of  more  such  mis- 
sionaries as  paid  agents  in  other  low  parts  of  London. 
Mr.  Maguire,  who  has  been  so  successful  in  an  open- 
air  mission  to  the  working  classes,  and  has  thereby 
attracted  them  to  a  Tuesday  evening  service  within 
his  church,  thus  speaks  of  the  commencement  of  a 
Female  Bible  Mission  in  his  parish,  in  his  pastoral 
letter  to  his  congregation  : —  j.  ^      ;.;>*^i^/  •.u>.4\. 

"  Within  the  first  three  weeks  of  the  operation  of 
this  agency,  as  many  as  seventy-three  subscribers  for 
Bibles  were  obtained  in  some  of  our  poorest  streets. 
They  are  to  be  paid  for  by  small  weekly  instalments, 
and  much  spiritual  and  domestic  good  may  be  expected. 


I 


94 


THE  MISBINO  LINK. 


with   God's  blessing,  to  result  from  this   organiza- 
tion." 

And  what  is  the  description  of  many  of  these  poor- 
est streets,  in  this  now  dense  mass  of  human  habita- 
tions? The  Report  of  the  City  Mission  has  thus 
painted  them :  "  Dingy,  swarming  alleys,  crowded 
with  tattered  women,  and  unwashed,  lazy  men,  cluster- 
ing round  the  doors  of  low-browed  public-houses,  or 
seated  in  unwindowed  shops,  frouzy  with  piles  of  rub- 
bish, or  displaying  coarse  and  greasy  food."  This  is 
the  neighborhood  in  which  Mr.  Vanderkiste,  who  was 
for  six  years  a  City  Missionary,  made  "Notes  and 
Narratives  of  a  Mission  to  the  Dens  of  London" — 
those  dens  which,  up  rickety  staircases,  and  through 
fever  and  dirt,  still  want  exploring  day  by  day,  with 
the  Bible  in  hand.  Has  the  Bible  Society  scarcely 
sent  forth  5000  Bibles  and  Testaments  in  twenty  years 
among  so  many  ?  If  St.  Giles's  wanted  a  "  Marian," 
and  Paddington  a  "  Martha,"  Clerkenwell  needed  its 
"  Sarah" — a  devoted,  vigorous,  motherly  "  Sarah." 

We  will  therefore  follow  her  in  a  few  of  her  first 
Bible  walks,  not  so  much  into  a  district  of  costermon- 
gers,  as  amid  the  homes  of  poor  artisans,  out  of  work, 
or  in  half  work  ;  and,  in  contrast  to  the  many  forms 
of  misery  she  has  found  among  these,  the  daily-paid 
out-door  laborer  in  St.  Giles's  soeras  rich.  Even  those 
women  who  would  be  called  respectable,  if  their  lius- 


U. 


koS 


CLERKENWELL   AND  THE   BIBLE-WOMAN. 


95 


bands  were  in  work,  excuse  their  filthy  and  untidy 
habits  by  saying  the  men  earn  little  or  nothing  now  ; 
and  with  numbers  health  has  failed.  "  Sarah"  meets 
the  worn  and  jaded  cabinet-maker,  who  has  walked 
with  the  chair  or  chest  of  drawers  he  has  made  till  he 
is  ready  to  drop,  and  is  obliged,  at  last,  to  sell  it  for 
little  more  than  the  material  has  cost  him,  because 
"  they  are  starving  at  home."  She  is  one  who  herself 
slept  last  winter  without  a  blanket,  for  the  sake  of 
others.  She  is  sometimes  almost  desperate  on  behalf 
of  the  misery  she  sees.  God  help  her  in  her  efforts, 
and  the  people  in  their  misery  1 

In  commencing  with  Bible  work  as  "  Marian"  did, 
she  thereby  investigates  the  habits  and  customs  of  the 
people. 


"April  Ist. — Called  on  an  Irishwoman ;  solicited 
her  name  as  a  subscriber  for  a  Bible.  She  gladly 
promised  a  penny  a  week,  saying  she  had  long  wished 
for  one. 

"  Called  on  a  man  in  C street.    His  answer 

was, '  No,  missus,  I  do  not  want  a  Bible.  I  have  one 
in  my  box,  and  it  is  one  hundred  and  two  years  old.' 
I  replied, '  I  should  like  to  see  it.'  He  took  it  out, 
and  I  was  obliged  to  say, '  It  looks  as  if  every  page 
condemned  its  several  owners.'  '  How  so,  missus  ?' 
'  It  has  always  been  kept  in  the  box,  and  not  a  leaf  is 


m 


;•    * 


96 


I     i. 


THE  MISSING  LINE. 


soiled.'  '  Yes/  said  he  ;  '  but  I  cannot  see  to  read  it, 
my  eyesight  is  so  bad.'  '  Then  you  want  one  that  you 
can  see  to  read,  and  that  can  lie  open  on  the  table, 
to  teach  you  the  way  of  salvation  through  the  blood 
of  a  crucified  Saviour.'  *  Well,'  was  the  reply, '  you 
can  put  my  name  down,  and  be  sure  it  is  a  good 
print.' "  yy  ^,u 


!:   ?>iil^    Hkm    ^':%iilii 


IW; 


The  people  of  Clerkenwell  are  artificers,  dress- 
makers, flower  and  fan-makers,  comb,  brush,  and  box 
sellers,  smiths,  farriers,  and  wheelwrights — persons 
vrho  in  good  times  can  earn  from  13s.  to  14s.  a  week, 
but  who  now  say  that  supply  overpasses  the  demand 
for  their  work.  Numbers  seem  wretchedly  off  for 
decent  clothing,  and  especially  for  beds  ;  and,  having 
heard  of  the  supply  in  St.  Giles's,  they  are  become 
eagerly  anxious  to  obtain  them  in  Clerkenwell  also  by 
instalments,  which  is  a  principle  understood  among 
them  for  other  purposes.  If  at  all  possible,  it  is  their 
habit  to  pay,  by  degrees,  towards  a  trip  into  the 
country  in  the  pleasure  vans — most  often  made  on  the 
Sabbath — and  for  which  the  charge  is  3s.  a-piece,  and 
half-price  for  children  ;  and  for  this  day  a  fine  dress 
must  somehow  or  other  be  obtained,  if  only  to  go  to 
tlie  pawnshop  on  the  morrow.  Tally-shops  abound  in 
Clerkenwell,  which  provide  this,  at  twice  its  cost  price, 
on  credit,  and  which  usually  summon  the  husband  for 
the  payment,  leaving  the  wife  and  children  destitute 


■MMIi 


♦ 


CLERKENWE'  T.  AND   THE   BIBLE-WOMAN. 


91 


of  necessary  clothing  or  comforts,  for  that  one  daxfa 
sake,  to  the  end  of  the  year. 

These  women  all  want  teaching,  just  as  much  as  in 
St.  Giles's,  to  prefer  to  this  soon  past  and  expensive 
pleasure  the  neat  print  dress,  which  may  be  their  own 
for  3s. ;  and  also  to  make  the  cheap  soup,  or  savory 
dish,  that  shall  invite  the  husband  to  his  home,  and 
nourish  themselves  and  the  children.      '    ' 

"  If  I  have  but  fd.  I  only  spend  ^d.,  says  Sarah  to 
her  people  ;  "  and  when  I  have  but  Id.,  I  never  go  on 
trust  for  2d."  This  is  what  they  want  teaching  in 
Clerkenwell.  :^(;nvi.^ 

"  May  M. — Visited  forty  subscribers  ;  found  many 
out,  but  the  penny  left  for  me  at  the  neighbor's. 

"  This  day  I  met  with  a  fellow-missionary — a  Scrip- 
ture-reader to  his  neighbors  on  his  own  account.  Not 
knowing  this,  I  asked  him,  among  others,  if  he  wanted 
a  Bible.  *  Yes,'  said  he,  '  I  do  ;  but  I  have  not  a 
penny  till  I  have  been  out  to  sell  my  fish,  and  then  I 
will  leave  it  for  you.  I  want  a  Bible  very  much,  for 
look  here  at  these  few  leaves  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John. 
When  I  come  home  at  night  I  have  my  tea,  and  wash 
myself,  and  then  I  go  out  to  read  these  to  my  neigh- 
bors.' His  wife  testified  that  thip  was  true.  She  gave 
me  the  first  penny  an  hour  afterwards." 

This  is  the  kind  of  man  to  make  a  future  colporter  1 

"  '  Here,  you  Bible-woman,'  called  out  a  young  man 
5 


TT 


98 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


r 


who  had  paid  a  penny  for  a  Bible  last  week — *  here's 
your  penny  for  the  Book,  but  you  never  told  me  you 
sold  shirts.  Don't  you  see,  I've  no  mother,  and  I 
want  a  shirt — the  Bible  won't  clothe  me.' 

"But,'  I  said,  'it  will  teach  you  to  clothe  yourself. 
However,  I  do  not  sell  shirts  at  this  time  ;  I  only  sell 
Bibles.  If  you  want  a  shirt,  you  can  have  one  ;  it  is 
ready  made  for  you — a  good  strong  working  shirt ; 
you  must  send  your  sixpence  by  some  woman  you 
know,  to  my  clothing-club  room  on  Wednesday  nights, 
and  you  may  get  a  shirt  for  Is.  6d.,  but  I  cannot  take 
your  money  now.' 

"  *  I  think,'  said  an  old  man,  one  of  his  fellow-work- 
men, '  you  might  as  well  take  mine.  I  was  going  in 
for  a  glass  of  gin,  but  I'll  give  you  this  twopence  for  a 
shirt.  I  would  not  give  it  you  for  a  book.'  *  I  hope 
you  will  some  day,'  I  said,  *  when  you  hear  more  about 
the  Book  ;  but  I  suppose  I  must  take  it  for  the  shirt, 
to  save  it  from  the  gin-shop,  only  it  is  not  my  rule.  I 
do  one  thing  at  a  time.' 

"  May  5th  and  Qih. — After  collecting  yesterday  my 
Bible  subscriptions,  which  constantly  increase,  I  went 
this  morning  to  mention  that  the  club  was  now  open 
for  the  receipt  of  subscriptions  for  bedd'ng  ;  for  which 
the  people  appeared  very  thankful,  and  numbers  prom- 
ised to  subscribe  as  soon  as  they  got  employment,  as 
they  now  slept  on  the  floor  and  on  dirty  rags.  ' 


^kimm 


y^^A^vt)  rtS^. 


CLERKENWELL    AND   THE   BIBLE-WOMAN. 


99 


"  *Jth.  — Visited  Fryiiigpan  -  alley,  Row  -  alley,  and 
Turk's-head  Yard.  Here  I  found  costermongers,  coal- 
sack  makers,  beggars,  tinkers,  and  a  few  water-cress  girls. 
Part  of  the  houses  are  fallen  down,  giving  a  little  more 
air  than  otherwise  would  be  obtained.  Up  one  of  the 
yards,  the  whole  of  the  ground  floors  are  turned  into 
sheds  for  the  carts  and  wagons  of  cowkeepers,  stable- 
men, and  wheelrights.  This  is  one  of  the  vilest  places 
in  London.  In  the  gateway  stood  many  girls,  from 
fourteen  to  eighteen,  for  whom  my  heart  ached,  and  I 
must  surely  try  to  carry  the  Book  among  them. 

"  I  have  sold  all  our  ready-made  clothes.  The  peo- 
ple think  it  is  '  one  of  the  best  ways  that  has  been 
thought  of  to  help  them.'  One  woman  said  '  she  had 
lived  fifty  years  in  the  parish,  and  that  this  new  plan  of 
subscribing  for  clothing  and  beds  would  certainly  be 
one  of  the  greatest  blessings  that  ever  happened  for 
Clerkenwell.  Old  clothing  of  all  sorts  is  eagerly 
asked  for.         «;   ^,  ,  - 

"  After  collecting  for  my  Bibles  on  Thursday,  I  went 
on  Friday,  and  called  on  twenty  families  in  Turnmill 
street,  all  of  whom  were  pleased  to  hear  of  the  club 
for  clothing  and  beds,  for  they  possessed  no  beds.  As 
they  had  been  induced  to  have  a  bit  of  print  and  calico  of 
some  tally-shop,  they  could  not  now  i)ut  down  their  names 
to  me,  although  they  would  pay  1\d  for  print  no  better 
than  mine  at  4c?  a  yard. 


* 


100 


THE   MIBSINQ   LINK. 


I 


IK 


"  May  2'ith —  Whit- Monday. — Left  home  at  8  a.  m., 
to  be  in  time  for  some  of  my  subscribers  wHb  were 
going  to  make  holiday.  Reached  Compton  street, 
Clerkenwell,  which  presented  a  scene  not  easily  to  be 
forgotten, — nine  vans  filled  with  people,  young  and 
old,  with  children  of  all  ages.  One  very  old  woman 
told  she  Would  read  a  tract  I  gave  her  on  her  journey. 
Left  that  bustling  scene,  and  passed  to  Allen  street, 
where  a  great  many  persons  had  been  cheated  by  a 
man  who  had  for  many  weeks  been  collecting  their 
pence  to  take  them  a  trip  in  the  country  by  van,  and 
had  decamped  with  the  whole  sum,  amounting  to  be- 
tween three  and  four  pounds.  These  poor  creatures 
had  saved  their  pence  out  of  a  hard  day's  washing  or 
cleaning  for  this  trip,  some  paying  2s.  lid.,  others  3s., 
others  Is.  6d.  One  woman,  my  subscriber,  had  paid 
Is.  6d.,  and  was  going  to  pay  the  man  a  shilling  more 
if  he  had  come.  '  Well,'  she  said,  *  after  all,  it  is  bet- 
ter to  buy  a  Bible  ;  so  here,  missus,  take  this  shilling. 
Let  me  have  my  large  Bible,  for  that  will  pay  it  up  ; 
and  instead  of  drinking  anything,  I  will  read  it.' 

"  May  25th. — Made  thirty  calls  ;  succeeded  pretty 
well,  they  having  left  my  pennies  for  me. 

"  One  of  the  Sunday  school  teachers  had  given  an 
old  man  a  Bible  ;  and  as  he  never  would  lend  it  to  liis 
wife,  when  I  called  to  ask  them  to  subscribe,  the  fol- 
lowing conversation  ensued :     -    ■  <;,  w  r  >*  4>*  »  uih 


CLKUKBNWBLL  AND   THE   BIBLE-WOMAN. 


101 


"Old  Woman  (above  seventy):  'Now,  dear,  see 
what  a  nice  Testament ;  only  fourpence  1  1  can  see 
that  i..int ;  do  buy  it  for  me — you  never  bought  me  a 
book  in  your  life — and  then  I  shall  be  able  to  read 
nicely.    Hoar  how  well  I  can  spell  1'      ,    ,   ,;. 

"  Man  :  *  What  do  you  want  with  it  ?  You  have 
got  two  or  three  I "  u  .     u>»  I  i. 

"  Woman  :  *  But  they  are  so  dirty,  I  can't  see  to  read 
them  ;  and  look,  what  a  beautiful  book  for  only  four- 
ponce  1  When  I  took  my  boy  to  school  (he's  now  forty) 
I  used  to  ask  the  mistress  to  tell  me  a  letter  or  two, 
and  so  by  that  mea-  ^  I  learnt  the  little  words  ;  and 
now,  you  know,  I  can  spell  big  ones.'    rrr  n  >  )>!.^  t^>->> 

"  I  then  sat  down  and  read  a  short  portion  to  them ; 
and  by  degrees  he  drew  the  fourpence  out  of  his  pocket, 
and  bought  the  Testament.      .     „. ,    ,..  _ 

*'  The  following  week  the  son  gave  me  his  name  for 
a  Bible,  and  paid  twopence,  his  own  being  too  old- 
fashioned  to  take  to  church  ;  and  his  mother  told  me, 
with  her  hands  uplifted  and  streaming  eyes, '  that  her 
son  had  been  a  cruel  drunkard,  and  had  often  helped 
his  father  to  beat  her  and  turn  her  out  of  doors  ;  but 
now,  since  Mr.  Maguire  had  come  to  the  parish,  he 
kept  himself  clean  and  sober,  going  regularly  to  the 
Institute  for  Working  Men  every  evening,  and  to 
church  on  Sunday.'  • 

"  Two  evenings  afterwards,  this  woman  came  to  my 


*1 


102 


THE  MISSING  LINK. 


house  at  half-past  nine,  with  twopence  from  a  neighbor 
who  lived  opposite,  to  whom  she  had  shown  'her  beauti- 
ful Testament,'  asking  for  a  card  to  prove  to  her  she 
had  paid  the  twopence,  and  requesting  me,  as  the  Bible- 
woman,  to  call  next  week,  as  they  wanted  a  2s.  6d. 
Bible,  she  having  seen  what  a  splendid  book  I  could 
sell  for  that  price  ;  and  '  I  mean,'  she  said, '  to  show 
my  book  to  everybody,  and  get  as  many  customers  for 
you  as  I  can.' 

"  May  2Qth. — Called  on  a  poor  man  for  his  subscrip- 
tion, who  said,  *  I  am  very  sorry,  but  work  has  been  so 
bad  that  I  cannot  get  my  little  money  together  to  take 
us  into  the  country  when  master  sends  for  us  for  the 
hay-making  ;  so  I  am  afraid  I  shall  be  obliged  to  make 
my  part-of-a-Bible  do  till  I  come  back.' 
"  *  Let  us  see  the  part  you  talk  of,"  said  I.  >  ••• 
"'Here  it  is.'  /  ^-  ,       ■    r 

"  *  It  looks  well  used  ;  but  how  came  you  to  have  it 
in  this  cut  state?'  >'-'  *^ 

" '  You  see,  when  my  mother  died,  I  and  my  brother 
both  wanted  it,  so  we  cut  it  in  half,  and  he  had  the  New 
Testament  and  I  the  Old.  I  take  it  with  me  almost 
every  year  to  read  in  the  hay-fields  to  my  com- 
rades.' '"'■''  .■■  _  '  :^  ')!;■;  u;,---^.  ■■  A-(  =  A^-:^^' 
"  I  called  the  next  morning,  and  left  my  own  Bible 
with  this  man  as  a  gift.  I  hope  both  the  brothers  are 
Christian  people. 


ft 


BWWilWiiiiWI 


CLERKENWFLi.   AND   THE   BIBLE-WOMAN. 


103 


"  Called  on  a  poor  man  to  ask  him  to  become  a  sub- 
scriber. 

"  *  That's  all  you  religious  people  think  about — if 
you  can  thrust  a  Bible  or  a  tract  down  our  throats,  it 
will  do  as  well  as  food.  Now,  I  have  five  children 
and  a  wife,  and  no  work.' 

"  *  My  good  man,  you  quite  mistake  me  if  you  think 
I  want  you  to  live  on  the  Bible.  I  only  want  you  to 
live  by  its  precepts,  that  you  may  be  led  to  ci»U  on 
Him  who  careth  for  you  in  all  things,  and  died  to  save 
you,  that  by  His  stripes  you  may  be  healed.' 

To  my  surprise  he  said, '  Well,  then,  put  down  my 


i(  rr 


name  ;  I'll  have  a  Bible.' 


"  June  *lth. — Going  out  this  mo^'ning,  met  two  of  my 
subscribers  coming  with  their  pence  for  me  befoi*e  they 
left  home  for  a  day's  work.  Called  on  a  poor  man  ; 
showed  him  one  of  my  large  Bibles.  '  Well,'  said  he, 
*  this  is  a  fine  book  for  only  2s.  6d.  ;  it  is  just  like  a 
gift,  it  is  so  cheap.  Now,  if  you  will  keep  this  very 
one  for  me,  I  will  give  you  twopence.' 

"  *  I  cannot  promise  that  very  book,  but  you  shall 
have  one  of  the  same  sort.' 

"  '  That  won't  do  for  me,  for  I  must  have  this  very 
book,  it  is  such  a  beautiful  type  ;  so  I  shall  put  my 
name  and  address  in  it,  to  prevent  the  sale.' " 

An  old  man,  who  became  a  Bible  subscriber  from 
the  commencement  of  this  mission,  explained,  as  ho 


!  '*        I 


104 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


procured  first  clg  shilling  Bible  and  then  another, 
that  he  wished  them  to  give  away  with  his  own  hand. 
Sometimes  he  paid  a  halfpenny,  sometimes  a  penny, 
sometimes  more,  till  he  had  purchased  no  less  tlian 
three,  and  was  subscribing  for  a  fourth ;  when  one 
day,  being  very  ill  with  severe  rheumatism,  he  was 
compelled  to  bid  the  Bible-woman  enter  his  room  for 
the  first  time,  and,  to  her  surprise,  she  found  only 
tokens  of  extreme  penury  and  personal  want.  He 
liad  always  put  his  card  and  money  out  at  the  door, 
and  had  paid  so  regularly,  that  she  little  thought  to 
SCO  a  room  so  unkept,  and  with  nothing  for  a  bed  but 
some  sacks  in  the  corner.  She  asked  him  how  he  had 
been  able  to  give  to  others,  if  himself  so  bare  of  neces- 
saries. He  said,  "  He  liked  to  give  to  God,  and  the 
small  sum  he  had  spared  would  not  have  made  much 
diflference  to  his  own  supply." 

He  appeared  to  be  a  man  of  some  education,  having 
been  intended  for  a  teacher,  but  he  had  become  a  whip- 
liandle  maker ;  and  just  then,  having  no  power  to 
work,  was  consequently  in  distress.  When  asked 
whether  he  had  not  better,  while  ill,  go  into  tlie  work- 
house, "  No,"  he  said,  "  time  has  been  when  I  have  re- 
ceived my  own  dividends  ;  I  would  rather  be  carried 
out  of  this  room — starved ! " 

When  Sarah  saw  her  superintendent  in  the  evening, 
and  found  that  some  readv-made  linen,  for  the  use  of 


CLERKENWELL   AND   THE   BIBLE-WOMAN. 


105 


I 


the  Missions,  had  been  sent  by  a  clergyman's  lady  at 
Woodbridge,  she  asked  for  a  couple  of  shirts  for  this 
man,  who  had  cared  so  little  for  himself,  and  been  so 
little  cared  for,  that  he  had  only  worn  rags  these  last 
six  months.  They  were  very  gladly  so  bestowed,  it 
being  ascertained  that  drink  had  not  been  the  vice  that 
had  brought  him  to  this  low  estate  ;  and  as  she  was 
about  to  make  a  fresh  supply  of  beds  for  her  sub- 
scribers, she  was  ordered  to  add  one  to  the  list,  with  a 
cover  to  keep  it  clean,  and  a  blanket  and  rug,  pur- 
chased with  the  Mission  funds  which  had  been  kindly 
sent  for  Sarah's  use.  He  had  slept  for  months  with 
only  a  sack  under  him,  and  three  above  him  ;  and,  in 
fact,  when  the  Bible-woman  penetrated  into  his  room, 
he  said  he  had  laid  him  down,  as  he  thought,  to  die. 
The  message  was  sent  with  the  gifts,  "  that  as  he  had 
loved  to  spread  God's  word,  the  Lord  had  unexpected- 
ly restored  him  fourfold."  He  seemed  most  thankful, 
and  made  answer,  "  Not  fourfold,  but  a  hundredfold. 
He  has,  all  my  life  long."  Comforted  by  the  help 
given,  he  had  his  room  cleaned,  and  began  to  work 
again. 

Various  tokens  of  sympathy  have  since  reached  us 
for  this  poor  man  from  country  friends.  One  kind 
hand  sent  him  his  Christmas  dinner  ;  another,  "  six 
shillings,  because  he  had  denied  himself  for  Christ." 
He  is  just  one  of  those  friendless  waifs  upon  the  wilder- 


w 

ri! 


^i' 


PI 


WVI'lM<l'<'(j|i<if.ii<ui 


106 


THE  MISSING    LINK. 


ness  of  life,  needing  the  help  of  a  female  missionary  to 
raise  and  cheer  him.  There  are  many  such  who  pass 
unobserved,  except  by  the  All-seeing  Eye,  from  time 
into  eternity.  They  retire  hopelessly  into  the  depths 
of  their  poverty.  How  blessed  a  work  it  is  to  seek 
out  and  succor  theml 


s   \ 


.-it., 


,«=     •  -r 


r^  •  :  ^^ 


}% 


'\  •; 


'^^■f 


'-   '         ■•.%^,"-  .^»*;{ 


n: 


y 


!i:.. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


BIBLB-SKLLING   IN   SPITALPIELDS. 


Having  now  introduced  our  readers  to  three  dis- 
tinct neighborhoods  in  London — St.  Giles's,  in  its 
west  central  division,  Paddington  in  its  north-west, 
and  Clerk  enwell  in  its  northern  portion — weshall  in- 
vite them  to  traverse  tlie  north-eastern  districts  of  the 
million-peopled  city,  the  densely-populated  vicinities 
of  Spitalfields,  Bcthnal  Green,  and  Shoreditch,  which 
are  remote  as  the  poles,  comparatively,  from  the  aristo- 
cratic localities  of  Grosvenor  and  Belgrave  Squares  in 
the  west. 

The  population  of  London  alone  is  supposed  nearly 
to  equal  that  of  t'ne  whole  island  of  Madagascar,  or 
that  of  all  Norway  and  Sweden  ;  and  as  the  habita- 
tions of  the  rich  and  noble  become  scattered  towards 
the  extremities  of  the  circle,  they  leave  the  working 
bees  thronging  together  at  the  centre  of  the  old  hive. 

London  is  a  wonderful  place  ;  it  has  within  its  bor- 
ders whole  colonies  of  populations  not  native,  which 
represent  foreign  nations  and  communities.    There  is 

(107) 


I 


'I    11    .HIIHWIii  (^^H|»„.H«fl|F»^FWr' 


;L:i 


108 


THE  MISSING   MNK. 


'' 


)i^i 


till 


a  cluster  of  God's  ancient  people  at  its  heart,  the  once 
mighty  sons  of  Abraham,  known  amongst  us  at  present 
but  as  the  "  offscourings  of  all  things,"  yet  one  day  to 
be  gathered  (can  wo  doubt  it  ?)  with  all  tlieir  exiled 
brethren  of  the  wide,  wide  world,  and  reinstated  as  the 
lords  of  their  own  land. 

Strangely  blended,  too,  in  this  very  district,  with  a 
fragment  of  the  Jewish  nation  and  church,  are  to  be 
found  the  vestiges,  as  distinctly  visible,  of  an  old 
Huguenot  colony — the  French  nation  and  the  French 
church  (which  came  over  at  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew in  1568,  and  which  was  greatly  increased  in 
number  by  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  in 
1681),  itself  an  offset  from  the  yet  older  Vaudois 
church  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont,  the  uninterrupted 
descendant  of  that  primitive  Church  in  Rome,  which 
dates  from  the  persecution  of  the  pagan  emperors. 
Here,  then,  in  our  island  metropolis,  we  have  tlie  types 
and  remnants,  defaced  and  blurred  it  i&  true,  but  the 
unmistakable  types  of  the  true  churches  of  the  East 
and  West,  "  persecuted,  but  not  forsaken  ;  cast  down, 
but  not  destroyed."  They  await  their  recovery  and 
manifestation  at  the  time  when  they  shall  anew  receive 
that  Divine  Word  which  at  first  gave  them  birth. 
Their  fathers  were  the  treasurers  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  Tliese  precious  records  those  fathers 
first  brought  to    tlie  Anglo-Saxons,  whose  priceless 


I 


imM 


BIULK   SELLING    IN   SPITALPIELPS. 


109 


privilege  it  is  now  to  distribute  them  by  millions  of 
copies  all  over  the  earth,  and  to  those  "  beloved  for  the 
fathers'  sakes."  It  is  a  work  that  seraphs  might  envy, 
to  restore  these  title  deeds  to  the  children. 

With  this  knowledge,  let  us  suppose  ourselves 
standing  in  the  centre  of  Spitalfields,  and  the  district 
naturally  falls  into  three  main  divisions.  Each 
division,  indeed,  has  its  own  proportion  of  the  ordinary 
laboring  English  population  ;  but  each  has  its  very 
marked  and  distinctive  character.  To  the  south-west 
is  a  densely-populated  district,  containing  between 
4000  and  5000  Jews,  many  courts  and  streets  being 
entirely  inhabited  by  them.  In  this  section  is  a  great 
part  of  the  well-known  Petticoat-lane^— '•  The  Lane," 
as  it  is  commonly  called  by  the  many  buyers  and 
sellers  of  second  and  third-hand  goods  by  whom  it  is 
frequented,  just  as  Covent  Garden  is  by  the  St. 
Giles's  people  called  "  The  Garden." 

To  the  south-east  is  an  almost  equally  distinct  part, 
consisting  of  the  very  lowest  of  the  London  poor,  and 
containing  about  sixty  lodging-houses  of  various  de- 
scriptions, and  some  courts  and  alleys  almost  wholly 
given  o vcr  to  the  fallen  and  the  vicious. 

The  third  part  of  the  parish,  lying  to  the  north  and 
west,  has  its  large  proportion  of  persons  engaged  in 
the  silk  trade.  They  are  Weavers  anci  Silk-winders  ; 
and  of  these  there  are  many  thousands.    The  French 


1 

jfl 

R;:^SKt 

9 

1 

1 

1 

:>    ! 


i 


ii 


no 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


Refugees  taught  the  English  improved  modes  of  weav- 
ing, ante  brought  with  them  models  of  the  looms  of 
Tours  and  Lyons.  The  manufacture  of  silk  has  ever 
since  continued  to  be  the  staple  trade  of  this  locality. 

If  we  first  explore  the  Jewish  quarter,  we  shall  find 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Petticoat-lane  four  markets 
for  the  sale  of  old  clothes.  The  oldest  and  most  re- 
spectable is  called  "  The  City  Clothes  Exchange." 
This  is  inscribed  over  the  entrance.  A  little  to  the 
north  of  it,  perhaps  about  fifty  or  sixty  yards,  are  three 
markets  joining  each  other,  yet  distinct.  One  of  these 
is  called  "  The  Exhibition  Exchange,"  froiu  the  cir- 
cumstance that  it  was  built  principally  with  material 
belonging  to  the  Great  Exhibition  of  1851,  in  Hyde- 
Park.  This  market  is  covered  with  part  of  the  glass 
of  the  Crystal  Palace,  and  the  roof  supported  by 
columns  which  stood  in  that  building.  That  which 
was  once  the  admiration  of  the  world,  and  the  shade 
of  all  that  was  exquisite  in  art  and  manufactures, 
covers,  not  the  beautiful  contributions  of  distant  em- 
pires, but  the  refuse  and  cast-off  personal  apparel  of 
our  London  population.  In  this  "  Exhibition  Ex- 
change "  there  are  stalls  rented  to  persons  who  regu- 
larly occupy  them.  ' 

Another  of  these  markets  is  an  oblong  square,  un- 
covered to  the  sky  :  for  each  day's  leave  to  sell  there 
the  people  pay  twopence,  or  one  shilling  per  week. 


**-. 


BIBLE   SELLING    IN   SPITALFIELDS. 


Ill 


This  may  be  regarded  as  a  medium  market  between 
the  "  Exhibition  'Change"  and  "  Halfpenny  'Change," 
of  which  we  have  yet  to  speak. 

"  The  Halfpenny  'Change,"  which  is,  after  all,  the 
most  popular,  is  so  called  because  every  person  enter- 
ing it,  either  for  the  purpose  of  buying  or  selling,  has 
to  pay  one  halfpenny  toll.    Into  this  market  crowd 
hawkers  and  buyers  from  all  quarters,  and  the  nature 
of  the  traffic  it  would  be  impossible  to  delineate  ;  it 
must  be  witnessed  to  be  understood.      You  have  here 
the  refuse  of  everything  in  the  way  of  old  hats,  boots, 
shoes,  coats,  vests,  gowns,  shawls,  bonnets,  &c.,  &c., 
all  the  results  of  the  importunate  demand  made  at  so 
many  stores  and  doors  during  the  day,  "  Any  old  rub- 
bish in  the  way  ?    We  pay  you  well  for  it."    Hun- 
dreds of  people  pour  in  about  the  hour  of  one  or  two, 
with  all  such  rubbish,  into  the  'Change,  and  then  order 
is  lost ;  it  is  a  perpetual  scramble  going  on  between 
multitudes  of  living  beings,  every  one  appearing  to  be 
turning  over  and  making  selections  from  heaps  of  old 
articles,  which  cover  the  whole  place.    It  is  chiefly 
from  this  source  that  all  the  other  markets  and  shops 
are  supplied  ;  for  out  of  the  selected  boots  and  shoes, 
coats  and  trousers,  the  "  translators,"  by  mending  and 
scouring,  stuffing  and   dyeing,  produce   their  salable 
wares  ;  and  in  all  this  much  skill  and  deception  are 
practised,  so  that  what  is  sold  in  this  latter  mnrket  at  a 


r;! 


i: 


■\ 


\  m 

1 1 


112 


THE   MISSINO    LINK. 


groat,  when  mctamorpliosed,  brings  a  goodly  price,  by 
which  the  Jew  becomes  proverbially  rich. 

The  site  on  wliich  these  three  markets  stand  was 
covered  with  small  houses  some  fifteen  years  ago. 
The  owner  of  the  estate,  an  improvident  young  man, 
let  them  fall  into  decay  ;  the  ground  was  purchased, 
and  a  privilege  obtained  to  open  markets,  as  it  was 
thought  likely  that  such  accommodation  would  improve 
the  condition  of  the  place.  Every  part  around  it  is 
densely  inhabited,  and  thousands  daily  pass  and  repass 
through  all  the  avei  aes  of  this  dirty  but  golden  high- 
way. On  our  Christian  Sabbath-day  it  is  crowded 
more  than  ever  with  the  Jew  salesmen,  who  scream 
and  shout  in  recommendation  of  their  goods  ;  and  as 
a  crowd  of  ten  or  twelve  thousand  persons  assemble 
there,  the  place  is  called  Rag  Fair.  : 

Some  members  of  the  Open- Air  Mission  resolved, 
one  Sunday  in  June,  1858,  with  about  twenty  of  their 
friends,  to  make  a  regular  visitation  of  every  lane, 
alley  and  booth  in  this  extraordinary  place.  They 
gave  away  some  thousand  tracts,  and  made  numerous 
addresses,  which  seemed  listened  to  with  interest. 
The  Bible  Society  had  kindly  granted  them  a  supply 
of  Testaments,  and  these  were  used  when  any  express- 
ed a  desire  for  the  book  to  read  at  home  ;  but  the 
greatest  acceptance  was  found  for  Scripture  Cards, 
containing  five  or  six  verses,  printed  in  red  and  blue 


Ml 


!  H  U 


wmm 


was 


BIBLE  SELLING   IN  8PITALPIELD8. 


113 


letters.  In  only  two  instances  were  these  cards 
refused,  and  nearly  1500  were  distributed.  The 
journal  of  a  colporter  in  Spitalfields,  and  of  his  visits 
paid  chiefly  in  the  Jewisli  quarter,  will  here  prove  in- 


teresting. 


I 


JOURNAL   OP  A   BIBLE   COLPORTER  IN  SPITALFIELDS. 

On  Tuesday,  October  5th,  1858, 1  visited  about  130 
families  in  the  Tenter-ground,  near  Petticoat-lane. 
Forty  years  ago  this  square  was  an  open  space,  appro- 
priated to  the  stretching  of  dyed  cloth  on  timber 
frames  by  hooks,  from  which  the  place  derives  its 
name  of  "  Tenter-ground."  One  of  the  old  inhabi- 
tants remembers  the  ground  being  so  employed,  when 
not  a  house  was  built,  but  it  was  filled  with  cloth  of 
divers  colors.  It  is  now  covered  with  houses,  inhab- 
ited principally  by  Dutch  and  German  Jews,  speaking 
their  own  languages,  from  which  circumstance  it  is 
often  called  "  Dutch  Ireland." 

The  Jews  in  this  neighborhood  are  of  a  very  poor 
class.  I  met  with  but  few  men  at  home,  as  might  be 
expected,  they  having  to  get  their  living  abroad  by 
various  kinds  of  traffic.  The  women  are  not  commu- 
nicative with  an  English-speaking  visitor  ;  they  under- 
stood my  inquiries  but  little,  and  I  as  little  their 
replies  ;  yet  some  interpreted  for  others,  and  the  com- 
mon answer  I  received  was,  "  My  husband  is  not  at 


H    , 


lilll 


114 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


liome."  Tlioy  arc  in  general  poorly  lodged,  but  others 
are  fond  of  display  alike  in  their  persons  and  iiouses. 
The  large  floating  ribbons  for  the  head  attire  appear 
indispensable  as  a  rest-day's  ornament,  both  for  young 
and  old.  I  believe  they  bestow  much  care  on  their 
children  ;  I  have  been  often  pleased  with  the  appear- 
ance and  vivacity  of  the  little  ones,  and  thought  of  the 
promise,  "  And  the  streets  of  the  city  shall  be  full  of 
boys  and  girls  playing  in  the  streets  thereof."  Were 
these  beautiful  little  figures  brought  up  on  the  "  moun- 
tains of  Israel,"  with  "  timbrel  and  dance,"  &c.,  in- 
stead of  being  doomed  to  a  sedentary  life  in  the  low 
districts  of  London,  as  most  of  them  are,  what  a  con- 
trast would  they  form  in  riper  years  to  the  heavy  busi- 
ness-loving matron  of  Petticoat-lane  and  its  vicinity ! 

I  consider  it  due  to  the  people  of  this  quarter  to 
say  tliat  in  no  instance  have  T  received  an  uncivil  re- 
ception, nor  had  the  door  slammed  in  my  face  without 
an  answer,  as  is  too  frequently  the  case  elsewhere. 
This  has  been  the  effect  of  Christian  missions  amongst 
them,  as  once  no  Gentile  was  admitted  into  the  house 
of  a  Jew. 

Few  of  these  people  can  read  the  Bible  in  English. 
All  appear  to  stand  in  doubt  of  the  book.  One  asked, 
"  Is  the  name  of  Christ  in  it  ?  "  and,  when  answered  in 
the  affirmative,  replied,  "  Then  I  can  have  nothing  to 
do  with  it."    Many  have  asked,  "  Is  the  New  Testa- 


BIBLE  SELLING   IN  SPITALFIELDS. 


115 


ment  in  it?"  and  wlien  I  said,  "Ye?,  it  is,"  the  same 
answer  followed.  I  had,  consequently,  little  success 
this  day,  but  havinj?  obtained  one  Jew  as  a  subscriber 
1  also  obtained  seven  subscribers  who  were  not  Jews. 

A  City  Missionary,  who  has  been  laboring  here  for 
some  years,  told  me  that  he  has  circulated,  by  gift, 
about  400  copies  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  Dutch  and 
German  languages  amongst  the  Jews  of  this  locality. 
I  mot  also  a  Jew  who  is  an  old  inhabitant  of  this 
place,  who  assured  me  that  he  has  distributed  about 
1000  copies  of  the  Old  Testament,  in  the  English  lan- 
guage, amongst  his  countrymen.  Some  of  these  I  have 
seen  ;  they  are  copies  of  the  authorized  version  as  read 
in  our  churches,  having  a  little  difference  in  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  verses  ;  the  reading  is  more  continuous, 
like  the  reading  of  other  books.  It  is  but  just  to  the 
name  of  Miss  Hooper  to  say  that  all  these  Bibles 
were  supplied  by  her :  she  was,  as  I  have  learned,  a 
Gentile  Christian  lady,  most  kind  to  the  Jews  of  this 
vicinity,   • 

The  person  who  circulated  these  Bibles  for  her 
annongst  his  brethren  informed  me  that  thousands  of 
pounds  had  also  passed  through  his  hands,  as  her  al- 
moner, in  the  way  of  needful  gifts  to  the  poor  Jews. 
Another,  wlio  showed  me  a  Bible  he  received  from  hor, 
told  mo  that  she  was  in  the  habit  of  making  collec- 
tions for  them  when  she  travelled  from  home.     One 


'If-. 


u^ 


1'  '  f'  '.;[ 


116 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


of  the  most  respectable  and  intellij^cnt  females  I  met 
with  said  that  she  frequently  visited  the  Jewesses,  and 
that  she  would  sit  and  read  to  them  out  of  the  Old 
Testament,  but  never  say  a  word  to  hurt  their  feelings 
by  talking  about  "  Christ."  Now  that  Miss  Hooper 
has  been  removed  to  her  reward,  her  memory  is  re- 
spected by  all  the  Jews.  This  recalled  to  my  mind 
that  the  elders  of  the  Jews  had  said  to  our  Lord,  con- 
cerning a  certain  Gentile,  '*  That  he  was  worthy,  for 
he  lovcth  our  nation."    ,    0%.,,  •>  ,.  ■.  ,    . 

The  Jews  of  this  neighborhood  are  also  supplied 
from  their  synagogue  with  the  Old  Testament  Scrip- 
tures, both  in  the  Hebrew  and  English  languages.  In 
several  of  their  rooms  I  saw  a  picture  of  Moses  hold- 
ing the  two  tables  of  the  Law,  which  was  written  in 
Hebrew  on  each  table.  An  elderly  Jew  told  me,  as 
well  as  he  could,  that  he  had  travelled  over  the  East, 
and  practised  as  a  physician  when  abroad  ;  he  was 
now  "  translating"  old  shoes.  He  pointed  to  a  table 
whereon  were  pots,  cups,  plasters,  <fec.  He  said  he 
made  people  good  (well)  without  asking  any  money. 
He  ran  over  the  different  languages  that  he  could 
speak,  but  said  that  he  could  not  speak  either  English 
or  French  well.  His  wife  had  to  explain  to  me  what 
he  was  saying. 

In  another  room  I  met  a  venerable  Jew,  ninety 
years  of  age,  at  work  at  tailoring  ;  his  daughter,  who 


\ 


BIRLE  SELLING    IN   SPITALFIELDH. 


117 


he 


)uld 
rlish 
rhat 


lety 
rho 


was  quite  grey,  sat  by  his  side.  He  toUl  me  that  he 
subscribed  for  a  long  time  to  societies  which  had  for 
tlieir  object  the  relief  of  poor  aged  widows,  without 
any  distinction  as  to  sect  or  nation.  These  people 
had  the  Bible,  and  appeared  to  be  comfortable  in  cir- 
cumstances. .  I 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  interview  I  had  was 
with  a  Jewess,  who  I  saw  was  very  intelligent,  and 
she  told  me  that  if  I  gave  my  Bibles  to  the  Jews  they 
would,  the  next  moment,  sell  them,  for  they  cared 
notliing  about  them,  and  would  not  read  them.  1  was 
to  tell  my  friends  that  she,  a  Dutch  Jewess,  told  me  so 
in  kindness.  The  Jews  knew  that  they  had  the  truth, 
and  were  not  like  ignorant  Christians,  bowing  down 
to  images  of  wood  and  stone,  and  kissing  them,  <fec. 
I  attempted  an  explanation,  but  I  fear  she  knew  not 
how  to  distinguish  between  those  professing  the  name 
of  Christ,  and  those  who  worship  Him  in  spirit  and 
in  truth  without  such  symbols.  I  insinuated  nothing 
concerning  the  past  history  of  her  people ;  but  I 
thought  of  the  Scripture  :  "  From  all  your  idols  will 
I  cleanse  you,"  &c.  She,  too,  spoke  of  Miss  Hooper  as 
never  offending  their  prejudices.  "The  Jews,"  said 
she,  "  despise  the  Lord  Jesus."  She  did  not  herself 
believe  that  Jesus  Christ,  the  poor  fellow,  ever  declared 
that  he  was  the  Son  of  God.  The  ignorant  people 
about  him  said  so,  but  he  never  said  that  God  said  to 


!     1 
ft 


il 


118 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


him,  "  Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand."  She  repeated  that 
the  Jews  had  the  truth,  and  were  good  people,  but  not 
good  enough  for  the  Messiah  to  come  yet :  when  tliey 
were  good  enough  then  He  would  come,  A.c. 

The  next  house  I  entered  I  had  reason  to  think 
what  I  heard  from  the  Dutch  Jewess  was  true.  It 
was  a  chandler's  shop,  as  well  as  a  coal  and  rag  shop. 
The  owner  told  me  that  he  was  often  grieved  to  see 
Bibles  sold  for  waste  paper.  "  A  Jew  named  Levi 
said  lie  had  brought  me  a  large  Bible  to  sell  for  four 
or  five  shillings.  I  said,  '  Levi,  you  are  surely  not 
going  to  sell  that  Bible  ?'  He  said,  '  T  am.'  '  Well,  I 
could  give  you  no  more  than  twopence  per  pound  for 
it.'  He  went  out,  and  in  a  few  minutes  returned,  and 
flung  the  large  Bible  out  of  his  bag  like  a  bundle  of 
rags  into  the  scales — it  weighed  14  lbs.  It  was  an 
Oxford  edition  of  the  Scriptures,  and  I  sent  it,"  said 
the  shopkeeper,  "  as  a  present  to  my  daughter-in-law 
into  the  country." 

The  lady  I  have  referred  to  as  Miss  Hooper  had 
studied  the  Hebrew  language.  She  had  apartments, 
whore  she  used  to  meet  the  poor  Jewesses  two  or  three 
times  a  week,  in  classes  of  about  fifteen,  and  read  and 
expound  to  them  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament. 
1 1  was  her  custom  to  give  them  each  a  bowl  of  tea  and 
a  cake  on  these  occasions,  whicli  slie  handed  herself 
She  visited  tlie  sick  amontrst  the  Jews,  and  made  their 


BIBLE   SELLING   IN   SPITALFIELDS. 


119 


welfare,  both  spiritual  and  temporal,  her  greatest  care. 
The  title-page  of  the  Bible  she  distributed  reads  as 
follows  : 

"  The  Paragraph  Old  Testament.  The  Old  Testa- 
ment, translated  out  of  the  Original  Hebrew,  dili- 
gently compared  and  revised  with  the  former  Trans- 
lations, arranged  in  Paragraphs  and  Parallelisms. 
London  :  Printed  by  G.  E.  Byre  and  William  Spottis- 
woode.     1852." 


had 
ents, 
ircc 
and 
lent, 
and 
self, 
heir 


THE  BIBLE-WOMAN  IN   SPITALFIELDS. 

Hannah,  the  Bible-woman,  commenced  her  work  in 
Spitalfields,  says  Mrs.  Patteson,  her  lady  superintend- 
ent, in  the  month  of  August,  1858.  The  character  of 
the  people  she  visits  differs  materially  from  that  either 
of  St.  Giles's,  Clerkenwell,  or  Paddington  ;  but  yet, 
in  a  population  of  21,000,  not  1,000  families  are  of  a 
class  above  receiving  her  visits. 

She  has  not  had  very  much  success  among  the  Jews, 
owing  to  the  many  Bibles  previously  sold  in  their 
quarter  by  a  city  missionary.  Slic  has,  however,  sold 
four  Bibles  among  them,  three  of  which  were  said  to 
be  wanted  to  compare  with  their  Hebrew  Old  Testa- 
ments. She  says  tlie  Jews,  on  the  whole,  treated  her 
with  more  courtesy  tliaii  tlic  Gentiles. 

Many  of  her  visits  I'.ave  been  paid  among  the  weav- 
soniethina  rcculiarly  sad  to  see  in  the 


'6  t 


120 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


contrast  between  these  miserable,  half-clad  work- 
people, and  the  rich  and  beautiful  textures,  on  the 
creation  of  which  they  are  employed.  The  weavers 
always  live  at  the  top  of  the  house,  for  the  sake  of  tlic 
extra  light,  and  their  attics  may  be  distinguished 
down  the  length  of  several  streets  and  courts  by  the 
windows  extending  along  the  whole  side  of  the  room. 
They  occupy,  indeed,  the  two  highest  stories.  They 
are  an  independent  race,  but  not  inaccessible.  The 
silk  trade  employs  many  of  the  women  and  children. 
Fringe-making,  tassel-making,  button-knitting  (as  they 
call  the  work  over  fancy  silk  buttons),  and  winding 
the  silk  on  reels  before  weaving  it,  are  their  prevail- 
ing occupations  ;  while  the  children  are  useful  in 
winding  the  quiUs^  which  form  a  part  of  the  actual  shut- 
tle :  both  men  and  women  are  employed  at  the  loom. 

How  useful  a  Female  Bible  and  Domestic  Missionary 
may  be  to  numbers  of  the  poor  overworked  mothers, 
by  giving  a  kind  word  or  practical  hint,  need  not  be 
told.  In  her  direc.  work,  in  Bible  distribution,  she 
has  an  ample  field  before  her.  Many  years  ago  a 
strenuous  effort  was  made  througliout  the  nortli-east 
part  of  London  for  the  further  distribution  of  the 
J  U'iptures,  since  which  no  direct  Bible  work  to  any  ex- 
tent appears  to  have  been  undertaken  in  Spitalfields. 

Hannah's  visits  have  hitherto  invariably  been  well 
received.     Her  labor  must  be  earnest,  as  sho  will  often 


BIBLE   SELLING   IN  SPITALFIELDS. 


121 


have  to  call  once  and  again  for  the  expected  penny, 
finding  the  poor  weaver  with  an  empty  loom  and  an 
empty  purse.  At  the  same  time  there  is  much  that 
evinces  a  good  feeling  among  the  people ;  they  show 
great  pleasure  in  inspecting  the  Bibles,  and  in  many 
cases,  we  may  hope,  a  real  desire  to  possess  the  Word 
of  God,  able  to  make  them  wise  unto  salvation. 

Her  reception  was  very  encouraging  from  a  poor 
woman,  who  ran  for  her  husband,  saying,  "  Oh,  James, 
we've  got  this  precious  Book  come  to  us- -just  as  we 
can  pay  f©r  it — a  little  at  a  time."  In  another  family 
the  woman  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  the  man  a  Prot- 
estant. She  has  begun  to  pay  for  a  Bible.  When 
Hannah  called  he  was  sitting  with  his  wife  and  a 
neighbor.  He  said  to  his  wife,  "  Now  ft  tch  out  6d. 
for  the  book."  "  Don't  you  do  any  such  thing,"  said 
the  neighbor  ;  "  if  I  were  you  I'd  never  let  him  have 
it.     My  husband  bought '  that  book '  in  Ireland,  and 

it's  changed  him  so,  I've  never  had  a  bit  of  a  dance 
or  fun  with  him  since.    I  sold  it  once  for  half  a  pint 

of  whiskey  ;  but  when  he  came  home  from  his  work 

his  first  words  were, '  Where's  the  book  ?'  and  I  was 

obliged  to  get  it  back  as  I  could.    Now,  mind  me,  and 

don't  you  let  him  get  this  book,  or  he  will  be  quite 

changed."    The  man,  however,  is  persevering,  and  the 

woman  has  promised  to  join  a  "  Mothers'  Meeting"  held 

in  the  neighborhood. 

6 


(   ' 


122 


THE  MISSING    LINK. 


"  Hannah  "  in  Spitalfields,  as  the  result  of  six  months' 
labor,  has  sold  151  Bibles  and  57  Testaments.  She 
afterwards  undertook,  for  a  short  time,  the  charge  of  a 
Refuge,  but  is  now  desirous  to  return  tu  Bible  sell- 
ing. She  left  in  the  hands  of  her  successor  88  sub- 
scribers, a  number  since  increased  to  122,  while  the 
number  sold  in  all  amounts  to  256  copies.  When  the 
larger  books  have  been  obtained  as  "  Family  Bibles," 
many  have  joyfully  brought  them  to  the  "  Superintend- 
ent," begging  her  to  inscribe  their  names.  A  poor 
convict,  with  weak  sight,  had  repeatedly  written  home, 
asking  his  relatives  to  send  him  a  large-print  Bible. 
His  last  letter  urging,  "  Pray  don't  forget  the  book," 
stirred  them  up  to  resolve  to  send  their  own  small 
dirty  old  one,  when  they  were  told  of  the  "  Bible- 
woman,"  and  most  gladly  secured  good  type  for  him  by 
instalments. 

An  ignorant  woman,  gaining  a  living  by  fortune- 
telling,  became  a  purcliaser  of  a  Bible,  and  she  told 
Hannah,  "  Well,  I'm  getting  it  a'  into  my  head,  but  I 
Cc.n't  get  it  into  my  heart." 

In  a  short  report  from  this  agent  herself,  she 
says  : 

"  In  looking  over  my  six  months'  labor,  though  I  have 
often  been  very  tired,  I  have  much  to  praise  God  for. 
His  Holy  Word  has  been  sown  in  much  weakness,  but 
He  lias  watered  it  oftentimes  with  the  dew  of  His  Holy 


!   ' 


B'BLE  SELUm  ,K  STOALm^M. 


123 


the  right  path.    HoToHo  J  f '       "  '^  "'"''^  *"  ««««' 
I  'eft  n.^  district,  and  nZlT  °'"  "' ""^  '•°°'"  -^en 
«aid,  ■  I  never  fo  get  t„  "  rf^       '™'  ™''"<'  "^  "^''k. 
-ther  said  he  '1   „?;f  ""Z"'"'  ^"^  -•="•''   His 
fade  is  a  very  dirt^  and'  7f  "''"'''"*  •^°^-    His 

"^  ^omen,  with  a  verv  Z„t     .    '  '^'''"""''■ 
*°  '^  «t«e  tidy  cIothinT  a„dT  "'""'  ""^  '■"'P^'^ 

J"  ^-  street  th^C  T^  r^.^P^o- 
t'mcs  ;  but  the  people  in  fi-e„„    ,  ^  '"*''''  t^ree 

-eful  boot,  Jit  olgh"  r;e  "'•  '^'-  ^'^e  is  a 
the  Do.estie  Mission  fork  - 1^  7,7  '"'"^«'  "  ^» 
six  subscribers  for  clothing  and  beTs     ''""'  *"'"*^- 

^ift,  for  it  is  purchaserChf;:  f' ''""  ''"'  '=  -* 
-o-y,  though  at  a  n,„eh  lett'  '"  *'""'''  °^'> 
could  secure.  This  kind  off  ,  "'*'  ^^^  ">ey 
neighborhoods  of  cities  and  .;"   !  '^'""''""  *'"'  '"^^t 

7-ofheronen,ess:;rr;r::r^^.^^^"'^- 

olass  unreached  by  District  Visitors  or '.    '"  """'""'^ 

e>-s-fo  those  who  have  never  bel  I      ''r''""'■"'•'''"^■ 

'ever  been  broug),t  within  fho 


II  i 


i 

i 


Tllil 


!!i 


k 


124 


THE   MISSING  LINE. 


circles  of  the  benevolent  agency  which  emanates  from 
places  of  public  worship.  These  degraded  ones  never 
worship.  They  know  not  God,  and  they  are  often  sunk 
below  the  instincts  of  brute  animalp  Their  welcome 
to  the  Bible-woman,  we  must  repeat,  is  surprising. 


rom 
jver 
unk 
ome 


CHAPTER   X. 


THE  WANT  OP  A  BIBLE  MISSION  IN  BETHNAL  GREEN. 


■}    s^>L 


I  ',•' 


The  district  of  Bbthnal  Green  is  inhabited  chiefly 
by  silk  weavers,  and  the  very  name  of  that  locality 
will  recall  to  mind  immediate  associations,  with  dona- 
tions implored  by  its  clergy,  on  behalf  of  the  pitiful 
suflferings  of  their  poor  in  the  inclement  days  of  winter. 
They  would  speak  parochially,  of  a  population  of 
upwards  of  90,000,  and  of  a  proportionate  amount  of 
wretchedness  far  larger  than  in  most  other  neighbor- 
hoods. 

On  the  census  Sunday  of  1851  there  were  forty-one 
places  of  worship  in  this  locality,  thirteen  of  which 
belonged  to  the  established  church,  and  twenty-eight 
to  other  denominations.  On  that  Sunday  the  congre- 
gations in  all  these  places  unitedly  amounted  to  some- 
thing like  12,000  in  the  morning,  and  10,000  in  the 
afternoon  and  evening.  Assuming  that  fifty-eight 
persons  in  every  one  hundred  might  and  ought  to  have 
been  present,  the  congregations  should  have  consisted 
of  52,000.    The  absentees,  therefore,  numbered  at  least 

[125] 


i 


t  1 


1      'H   < 


') 


!     ''< 


126 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


40,000,  a  number  equal  to  the  population  of  a  large 
town,  not  inclusive  of  children. 

Whatever  change  for  the  better  may  have  taken 
place  since  the  census  Sunday,  it  is  still  the  opinion  of 
those  who  know  the  neighborhood,  that  to  these  "  ab- 
sentees" a  Female  Bible  Mission  will  certainly  not  bo 
out  of  place. 

We  may  add  that "  not  more  than  one-half  of  the 
surface  of  the  parish  is,  or  ever  has  been,  under  visita- 
tion by  the  City  Missionaries  ;"  yet  their  number  is 
tJiirteen,  and  the  committee  of  the  London  City  Mission 
(not  reckoning  their  special  receipts  from  Christian 
friends  for  the  purpose)  annually  expend  £400  of  their 
General  Fund  here. 

So  many  good  stones  having  been  thrown  into  this 
"  Slough  of  Despond"  with  a  view  of  mending  it,  and 
the  place  yet  remaining  "  almost  as  bad  as  before," 
let  us  try  if,  with  the  true  foiindation  stone  for  all 
future  evangelir'.o  labor,  we  can  find  the  bottom,  and 
to  this  end  endeavor  to  make  acquaintance  with  the 
people.  It  has  been  said — we  are  not  yet  certain  how 
truly — that  not  more  than  one  in  thirty  persons  is  at 
present  in  possession  of  a  Bible. 

In  company  with  our  friend  the  curate,  we  have  en- 
tered one  of  their  rooms,  ascending  to  it  by  a  dark, 
narrow,  winding,  and  broken  stair,  without  any  land- 
ing-place.   There  is  scarcely  space  to  stand,  for  the 


THE   WANT   OF   A    BIBLE   MISSION. 


127 


chamber  is  filled  up  by  three  looms  and  a  bedstead  ; 
its  long  casement  window  at  either  end  makes  it  suit- 
able for  weaving. 

The  father  is  moving  about  among  tlie  looms  amid 
two  or  three  children  engaged  in  winding  quills,  and, 
in  the  interval  of  attending  to  the  handsome  piece  of 
fringe  he  is  making  himself,  he  is  giving  assistance  to 
his  son,  a  lad  of  thirteen,  in  the  corner,  who  is  weav- 
ing a  fringe  of  mixed  colors.  That  fringe  will  adorn 
the  gay  dress  of  some  wearer,  who  will  probably  never 
think  where  it  was  made.  The  boy  cannot  read,  but 
says  he  would  like  to  come  to  school ;  he  has  been 
hindered  from  so  doing  by  this  early  work  for  his 
bread.    Must  he  not  find  time  to  get  food  for  his  soul  ? 

The  mother  of  the  family  has  just  returned  from  the 
doctor's  with  her  little  child  ill  of  inflammation  ;  it 
droops  and  wheezes  on  her  arm,  and  it  has  been  or- 
dered to  "be  kept  very  quiet,"  which  is  a  thing  im- 
possible here  ;  the  rest  of  the  household  cannot  stay 
their  work  for  the  poor  baby.  They  must  earn  their 
few  pence  for  that  which  the  mercer  will  turn  into 
many  shillings,  or  the  "  pot  au  feu"  will  not  be  kept 
boiling.  It  is  a  token  of  their  old  descent  from 
French  ancestors  that  this  utensil  is  so  often  seen 
among  the  weavers. 

This  family  have  attended  no  place  of  worship  "  for 
want  of  clothes."    They  are  "  subscribing  a  penny  a 


U  ! 


■)^\ 


I 


128 


THE   MI8SIN(;    LINK. 


I  i:i 


li 


week  tor  a  large-print  Bible,  to  replace  the  old  torn 
copy  which  they  showed  us.  They  were  delighted  to 
hear  of  the  possibility  of  getting  a  six-shilling  bed  by 
instalments,  and  garments  in  the  same  way.  It  is  very 
certain  they  will  welcome  the  Bible-woman  and  her 
simple  apparatus  of  helping  them  to  help  themselves. 

Now  let  us  take  another  street,  and  explore  another 
stair.  We  find  ourselves  in  a  room  smelling  strongly 
of  whelks,  of  which  a  fresh  heap  is  thrown  upon  the 
floor,  from  market,  thence  to  be  dispensed  by  street 
sale.  In  this  room  are  two  bedsteads  and  one  loom, 
and  a  similar  long  window.  We  are  here  introduced 
to  the  mysteries  of  both  "  broad  "  and  "  narrow  "  weav- 
ing. The  man  sits  by  the  fire  paring  potatoes  ;  he  is 
just  recovering  from  a  fever.  Here  also  on  the  fire  is 
the  soup-kettle.  The  woman's  dark  eyes  and  expres- 
sion of  countenance  bespeak  her  French  origin  :  she  is 
weaving  rich  black  satin,  for  which  she  will  get  eight- 
pence  a  yard — it  will  sell  for  more  than  eight  shillings. 
She  listens  with  an  intelligent  look  to  allusions  to  the 
history  of  her  forefathers,  the  Huguenots,  the  Men  of 
the  Book  which  their  children  have  forgotten.  She 
will  welcome  the  Bible-woman,  she  says,  and  the  man 
listens  with  some  earnestness  to  the  ofi'er  of  a  six-shil- 
ling bed.  In  this  room  the  holes  in  the  ceiling  were 
pasted  up  with  newspapers,  and  the  good  matronly 
Englishwoman,  who  accompanied  us  to  see  if  she 


THE   WANT  OF   A    BIBLE   MISSION. 


129 


thou^lit  sho  could  undertake  the  district,  was  of  opin- 
ion tliat  "  the  husband  looked  the  more  able  of  the  two 
to  take  his  seat  at  the  loom,  and  leave  the  wife  to  set 
her  place  to  rights."  It  will  be  a  favorite  idea  of  our 
own,  however,  to  find  for  this  district  a  "  Native 
Agent,"  already  well  acquainted  with  the  ways  and 
habits  of  the  people,  and  who,  under  good  direction, 
might  improve  them.  For  another  part  of  Bethnal 
Green,  the  Victoria  Park  District,  this  kind  of  agent, 
as  will  be  seen,  appears  to  have  arisen. 

Descending  the  stair,  we  arrive  in  another  room,  in 
which  there  is  much  to  observe.  In  the  first  place, 
there  is  nothing  clean  but  the  cat,  whose  white  fur  con- 
trasts with  all  around.  On  the  table  is  a  pile  of  cups 
and  saucers,  which  a  little  girl  of  fifteen  is  washing  up 
at  one  o'clock  in  the  day.  She  looks  slatternly,  but 
as  though  she  might  be  easily  transformed  into  a  nice, 
neat,  modest  maiden  ;  her  brother  of  twelve  is  squat- 
ting, with  his  face  towards  us  (a  face  like  Murillo's 
peasant  boy,  without  its  good  humor),  sulkily  on  a  bro- 
ken chair  before  the  fire  ;  his  knees  peep  through  his 
dilapidated  and  filthy  trousers,  and  we  ask  him  if  he 
would  not  be  happier  at  school  than  sitting  there 
idle. 

His  sister  answers  for  him  :  "  He  is  a  bad  boy, 
ma'am.  He's  always  running  away  from  his  work, 
though  he  can  weave  as  well  as  mother,  if  he  likes ;  so 
6* 


I 


I! 


i 


11 


'•M 


m 


I  m 


130 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


father's  cut  away  his  trousers,  and  now  he  can't  run — 
he  must  stop  at  home." 

A  comfortless  home  it  looked  to  stop  in,  and  the 
boy  ready  for  all  mischief.  A  novel  lay  upon  tlie 
table.  The  mother  then  came  in — a  hard-working 
woman,  who  seemed  open  to  conviction  that  better 
clotlies  and  more  comfort,  a  certain  portion  of  work, 
and  an  opening  for  school  instruction,  would  be  a 
benefit  to  herself  and  her  children.  She  said  the  boy 
was  a  famous  liand  at  figures  when  he  pleased.  Here, 
too,  was  scope  for  the  friendly  visits  of  the  Female 
Bible  Missionary.  * 

A  more  recent  report  from  Bethnal  Green  gives  us 
details  of  the  settlement  of  an  "  Alice"  and  a  "  Sophy" 
ill  these  districts,  and  of  the  work  of  each  tlieir  lady 
superintendent  already  gives  a  favorable  account. 
Alice  has  forty-seven  Bible  subscribers,  and  has  sold 
twenty-six  copies,  besides  bringing  more  than  fifty 
women  to  the  Clothing  and  Mending  Club,  in  a  most 
dirty  and  destitute  district.  "  It  is  truly  marvellous," 
it  is  said,  "  to  watch  the  amount  gathered  weekly  at 
these  meetings,  from  people  whose  appearance  would 
bespeak  them  the  very  dregs  of  society,  but  who  will 
soon  be  so  no  longer.  It  is  money  evidently  snatched 
from  the  gin  palace.  Many  a  filthy  chamber  is  already 
much  cleaner.  'Alice'  lately  took  me  into  a  room 
which  I  had  known  to  be  most  revolting  from  its 


THE  WANT  OF    A    BIBLE   MISSION. 


131 


)US 


J) 


at 
)uld 


Iw 


ill 


lied 

[ady 

)om 

its 


stench  and  dirty  condition,  and  my  delight  was  great 
to  find  its  mistress,  Inrush  in  hand,  on  bended  knee, 
witli  pail  beside,  sc  ubbing  heartily.  She  said  '  siie 
was  sorry  to  see  us  while  it  was  wet.'  Slic  is  now  at- 
tending a  place  of  worship.  '  Alice'  had  asked  a  sweep 
what  was  liis  reason  for  not  coming  to  tlie  school-room 
service.  He  replied,  '  The  people  complained  of  the 
sooty  smell  of  iiis  clothes,  and  none  would  sit  by  him.' 
'  Oh,'  said  she, '  come  and  sit  by  me  ;  I  shall  not  mind.' 
On  the  following  Sabbatli  she  placed  him  close  to  the 
wall,  and  sat  the  other  side  of  him  herself. 

"  I  suppose  you  would  be  pleased  to  liear  more  of  the 
'  Murillo'  boy.  The  next  time  I  called  with  the  Bible 
wonan  liis  dress  was  by  no  means  improved  ;  he  looked 
more  dilapidated  than  ever,  and  the  room  was  the 
picture  of  wretchedness.  His  motlicr  -laid  to  us, '  Oh 
dear !  if  you  could  but  save  that  boy,  you  might  bo 
the  making  of  us.  He  drives  his  father  to  drink,  and 
he  had  that  broomstick  broken  over  his  back  on  Satur- 
day ;  and  such  a  wretched  day  we  had,  but  it  only 
hardens  him.' 

" '  Now,  Jim,'  said  I, '  do  look  me  in  the  face.  Are  you 
not  tired  of  all  this  ?  If  I  lend  you  new  trousers  and 
jacket,  will  you  come  to  my  Sunday  school  ?  It  will  be 
better  than  having  a  stick  broken  in  beating  you.' 
He  looked  as  if  he  thought  he  would.  '  Alice'  there- 
fore brought  him,  with  scrubbed  face  and  brushed  hair, 


n\ 


•li 


182 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


next  day  ;  and  the  equipping  him  in  fresh  clothes  has 
led  to  a  complete  reformation.  Mr.  S,  says  no  boy 
behaves  better  in  the  school,  and  he  now  steadily 
works  with  his  father  besides.  His  sister,  also,  who 
in  *  Alice's'  journal  is  described  as  being  *  blunt,  as  if 
she  was  brought  up  in  a  wood,'  has  joined  my  Bible 
class,  and  is  making  great  efforts  to  improve  herself. 

"  We  asked  an  intelligent,  half-naked  lad,  lounging 
at  one  of  the  doors,  what  he  did  with  himself  all  day 
long  in  the  streets.  '  1  don't  know  what  to  do,'  he  re- 
plied ;  '  my  mother  has  not  a  penny  to  send  me  to  school, 
and  they  won't  even  take  me  to  a  Sunday  school.' 
'Alice' brought  him  to  me  next  day  in  the  ,yildest 
state,  his  hair  standing  on  end,  but  redrced  by  her 
visits  into  decent  order  :  he  sits  by  Jim  at  school,  like 
the  man  rescued  from  the  tombs,  clothed,  and  in  his 
right  mind.  The  Domestic  Mission  in  Bethnal  Green 
is  positively  essential  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 
Bible." 

'  Sophy,"  under   Mrs.  ,  in  a  kindred  district, 

hc-s  thirty-five  Bible  subscribers,  and  again  a  Clothing 
Club  has  been  immediatelv  found  most  welcome.  The 
very  shopkeepers  of  the  locality  perceive  the  necessity 
cf  receiving  payments  from  the  poor  by  instalments, 
of  course  for  their  own  benefit.  The  people  seem  so 
•powerless  to  save  their  money  unless  it  is  taken  from 
tham  ;  and  as  to  their  selection  of  articles,  so  reckless 


THE   WANT   or     \    BIBLE    MISSION. 


133 


pre  they  of  suitabilities,  that  a  woman  whose  ragged 
shawl  will  not  look  worth  a  shilling,  will  actually 
have  scraped  together  tea  shillings,  and  paid  it  off  a 
four  guinea  silk  gown. 

"Many  families  are  now  being  visited  who  were 
almost  starving,  none  of  whom  could  attend  any  school 
or  place  of  worship  for  want  of  clothes.  When  it  has 
been  dark  before  we  left,  in  order  that  we  might  go 
safely  down  the  crooked  and  dangerous  flights  of 
stairs,  a  girl  has  preceded  us  with  two  or  three  lucifer 
matches,  one  of  which  she  lighted  as  the  other  went 
out,  until  we  found  our  way  into  the  scarcely  better 
lighted  street." 


►■i't; ', 


SCRIPTURE   READING    IN   A    COURT  01    BETHNAL 

GREEN. 

{The  loUness  of  a  City  Missionary.) 

I  met  with  a  chimney-sweeper,  named  B ,  and 

several  others  of  the  same  calling,  assembled  in  a 
house  to-day,  all  of  whom  gave  me  a  rough  but  hecrty 
welcome. 

After  my  sooty  fri'^nd  had  informed  them  that  I  wag 
"  the  kind  gemmun  what  comes  to  talk  to  them  poor 
people  about  summut  better,"  he  turned  to  one  of  his 
company  whom  he  called  "  Buster,"  saying,  "  I  should 
like  you  to  hear  the  old  buffer,  Buster,  'cause  you 


1 


N 


'i     !l 


184 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


knows  a  thing  or  two — it 's  regular  stunning,  it  is  ; 
and,  what 's  more,  it  "s  cutting,  too.  Come,  Mister, 
oblige  me  by  giving  these  gents  a  stave :  let 's  hear 
summut  about  that  young  rascal  that  bolted  away  from 
his  poor  old  father — that 's  a  regular  good  thing,  that 
is,  Buster ; "  and  I  regret  to  state  that  an  oath  was 
appended  in  confirmation.  "  Come,  my  infant,"  he 
added,  addressing  a  tall  muscular  man,  about  six  feet 
in  height,  "  hand  over  the  cushion."  The  man  spoken 
to  did  as  he  was  desired,  giving  me  the  only  chair  of 
which  the  room  coui  d  boast. 

On  taking  possession,  I  observed,  "  Our  friend  here 
requests  me  to  explain  a  portion  of  the  Scriptures  lo 
>v^u.  He  tells  me  he  should  like  to  hear  about  the 
Prodigal  Son.  Now,  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  do  as 
he  desires,  if  you  are  all  willing  to  listen,  and  I  shall 
be  glad  to  answer  any  questions  you  may  ask  upon  the 
subject."  They  promised  compliance,  and  lighted  their 
pipes  when  they  heard  I  had  no  objection  to  their 
smoking.  They  listened  most  attentively  to  the  read- 
ing and  exposition  of  the  sacred  narrative.  My  friend's 
eyes  glistened  when  anything  was  advanced  that  touclied 
his  feeling!?,  I  remained  with  them  for  nearly  half 
an  hour,  once  or  twice  inquiring  whether  they  were 
tired,  and  receiving  for  reply,  "  Go  on."  They  were 
very  quiet  and  orderly  while  I  implored  a  blessing  on 
the  interview.     A  few  promised  to  attend  the  service 


THE  WANT  OP   A   BIBLE   MSSION. 


135 


at  Prince's  Place  on  Tuesday  evening,  but  all  made 
objection   o  Sunday. 

P Court, Row.  —  This  place  is  still  the 

abode  of  the  more  vicious  and  depraved  portion  of  the 
residents  of  my  district.  The  visitation  of  such  fami- 
lies -J  anything  but  agreeable,  and  seldom  results  in 
profit.  Most  of  the  occupants  of  these  houses  have  a 
resemblance  to  each  other  in  dirt  and  nakedness  and 
vice,  so  that  one  would  be  a  specimen  of  the  rest. 

I  will  take  No. ,  being  the  nearest  to  the  schools, 

and  the  first  visited.  The  lower  room,  into  which  one 
enters  from  the  court,  is  about  seven  feet  square.  The 
boards  are  so  covered  with  dirt,  that  they  would  be 
undistinguishable  from  the  ground,  were  it  not  that  a 
hole  here  and  there  serves  to  indicate  a  lower  depth. 
The  cupboards  are  all  open,  the  doors  having  been 
broken  off  for  fire-wood  by  former  occupants.  In  the 
windows,  paper  supplies  the  deficiency  of  glass.  The 
furriuse  consists  of  two  or  three  rickety  stools  and  a 
kini.  )!  i  lb,  which,  being  reversed,  answers  the  pur- 
pose of  u  tnble. 

There  is  another  room  above,  somewhat  less  in 
dimensions  than  the  lower  one,  which  is  used  as  a  dor- 
nitory,  but  no  bedstead  has  been  seen  there  in  the 
"memory  of  the  oldest  inhabitant,"  and  not  one  of  the 
Ija..'  five  tenants  has  possessed  a  bed.  The  sole  furni- 
turt  h  >i  curtain  to  the  window,  which  is  a  shirt  undi- 


ill! 

■  in 


SI 


136 


THE   MFSSING    LINK. 


vested  of  sleeves.  Five  children  here  exist,  amid  dirt 
and  wretchedness  beyond  description,  one  being  an 
infant  in  a  state  of  nudity  :  their  outward  defileinent 
is  a  svrabol  of  the  waste  within. 

"  Do  you  ever  say  your  prayers  ?"  I  asked.  "  What  I 
don't  you  even  know  *  Our  Father  ? '    Do  you  know 
who  God  is?    Did  you  ever  licar  of  Jesus?"    Each 
inquiry  was  met  but  '  >'  tho  vacant  stare  of  amaze- 
ment and  an  unmeaning        ^h.    In  a  short  time  the 
mother  came  in,  in  whose  countenance  might  be  traced 
marks  of  depravity  and  excess.    "  Your  children  don't 
go  to  school,  they  tell  me,"  I  observed  to  the  woman. 
"  La  I  bless  you,  master,  how  can  poor  critturs  the  likes 
of  us  send  children  to  school  ?    Why,  we  can't  get 
wittles  for  'em  to  eat,  lot  alone  things  to  kiver  'em. 
You  people  an't  got  no  feeling  for  the  poor,  or  you 
would  never  ask  such  a  thing."     After  a  little  conver- 
sation, I  found  that  she  indulged  in  ''a  bit  of  bacca" — 
"  the  only  comfort  poor  people  had  ;  "  also  "  a  drop  of 
beer,"  and  sometimes  ^^ah'tth  gin,"  which,  she  observed, 
"  don't  hurt  nobody."    I  am  led  to  conclude  she  is  not 
married  to  the  man  she  lives  with.    The  Word  of  God 
read  here  appeared  to  make  but  little  impression.   Truly 
it  is  the  female  visit  that  is  needed  to  follow,  or  even  to 
precede  mine,  and  place  these  poor  creatures  in  a  position 
to  listen  to  the  truth. 

On  the  12th  of  December,  1858,  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 


#^ 


THE   WANT  OP   A   BIBLE   MISSION. 


137 


don  again  visited  Bethnal  Green  parish,  being  the 
third  time  within  a  fortnight.  He  preached  at  St. 
Peter's  Church,  on  the  occasion  of  reopening  that  edi- 
fice for  Divine  service.  His  attention  seems  to  be 
especially  drawn  to  the  want  of  religious  knowledge 
and  conviction  in  the  East  end  of  London. 

The  Rev.  J.  H.  Wilson,  who  lias  been  so  successful 
in  the  evangelization  of  certain  low  districts  of  Aber- 
deen, had  a  recent  interview  with  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, at  his  lordship's  invitation,  at  London  House. 
This  portion  of  the  metropolis  was  the  immediate  sub- 
ject of  conversation,  and  the  bishop  strongly  advised 
the  employment  of  female  colporters,  to  sell  Bibles 
there  without  delay. 

The  Missionary  of  the  Truth  must  wait  before  the 
pass  of  Khyber  long  and  patiently,  at  the  portals  of 
Central  Asia,  to  acquire  languages,  and  to  find  the 
men  of  courage  and  peculiar  fitness,  who  shall  carry 
the  treasures  of  the  Scriptures  with  him  to  the  five 
millions  of  Afghanistan  ;  but  there  is  no  such  bar  to 
entering  into  the  streets  and  lanes  of  our  one  vast  city, 
comprising  in  itself  three  millions  of  souls.  May  the 
efforts  of  the  church  militant,  in  all  its  sections — the 
efforts  of  great  and  small,  young  and  old,  of  paid  and 
unpaid  agents — all  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  kingdom  of  God  by  the  spread  of 
His  Word  !    And  yet  it  is  not  enough  to  go  forth  to 


1 
f 

i 


138 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


these  masses  with  the  Bible,  the  tract,  or  the  Gospel 
aloue.  If  we  do,  they  may  well  answer,  as  tliey  have 
long  done  by  their  virtual  rejection  of  the  message, 
"  We  are  not  in  a  state  to  listen  to  you.  "We  have 
bodies  as  well  as  souls.  Look  at  our  food,  our  clotli- 
Ing,  our  lodging,  and  see  where  we  take  cold  rest  from 
our  labor  on  bare  boards  or  rags  1  Do  you  wonder 
tliat  vv^e  try  to  lose  the  sense  of  our  misery  in  gin  ? 
Teach  us  better  habits,  and  pluck  us  from  the  hand  of 
those  who  grind  our  poverty.  Shovr  us  how  we  may 
become  self-reliant,  and  lift  us  up  to  listen  to  your 
Book  out  of  our  depths  of  woe."  How  many  have 
actually  said  to  these  women,  "  We  understand  this 
new  plan  ;  we  think  this  is  really  caring  about  us  ;  it 
is  going  the  way  to  teach  us  to  care  for  ourselves  !  " 


,.'. 


» *  ■ 


f- 


I 


CHAPTER   XI. 

THE  WEAVBE8    AND   THEIR   FOREFATHERS. 

It  is  now  twenty  years  ago  since  a  minister  of 
Christ,  one  Sabbath  evening,  delivered  an  address  to 
silk-weavers  in  Mile-end  New  Town,  from  the  words, 
"  Consider  what  I  say,  and  the  Lord  give  you  under- 
standing in  all  things." 

Having  announced  his  text  to  a  congregation  large- 
ly composed  of  these  artisans,  he  proceeded  to  give 
them  a  very  interesting  history  of  themselves  and  their 
forefathers — those  French  refugees  who  came  to  Eng- 
land to  escape  the  persecutions  that  followed  on  the 
revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  in  1685.  At  that 
time  it  was  decreed  that  Protestantism  must  flee  out 
of  France  within  fifteen  days  ;  and,  while  400,000 
persons  left  the  kingdom,  as  many  more  perished  of 
famine  or  fatigue,  in  prison,  in  the  galleys,  and  on  the 
scaffold,  while  a  million  seeming  converts  to  the  super- 
stitions of  Rome  maintained  in  secret,  amid  tears  and 
desolation,  the  faith  of  their  ancestors. 

History  has  preserved  to  us  a  tableau  vivant  of  the 

(139) 


If  I 


11 
ifflfr 


140 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


expression  given  by  our  Queen  Elizabeth  to  her  grief 
and  indignation  at  the  previous  massacre  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew in  1568.  She  refused  for  several  davs  to 
give  audience  to  La  Mothe  Fendlon,  the  French  am- 
bassador ;  when  at  last  she  consented  to  admit  him  to 
her  presence,  she  received  him  in  her  privy  chamber, 
which  had  the  gloomy  aspect  of  a  tomb.  She  was  sur- 
rounded by  the  lords  of  her  council  and  the  ladies  of 
her  court,  all  attired  in  deep  mourning.  The  ambas- 
sador passed  through  the  silent  throng,  while  every 
eye  was  averted  from  him  in  anger,  and  approached 
the  queen,  who  demanded  how  he  could  justify  his  mas- 
ter from  that  odious  crime.  England  had,  for  more 
than  a  hundred  years,  supported  the  Protestant  party 
in  France,  by  arms  and  by  negotiation. 

The  French  colony  in  London,  at  that  time,  consist- 
ed of  but  422  persons.  After  the  massacre,  the  French 
church  was  no  longer  able  to  provide  aid  for  those 
who  arrived  in  a  state  of  destitution.  The  queen 
commended  the  refugees  to  the  charity  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  who  relieved  their  misery.  She 
afterwards  protected  them  against  the  animosity  of  the 
city  apprentices,  and  of  the  shopkeepers,  who  were 
jealous  of  the  new-comers,  and  even  clamored  for  their 
expulsion  from  England.  More  than  20,000  of  them 
took  up  their  abode  in  Long  Acre,  Seven  Dials,  Soho, 
and  Spitalfields. 


THE   WEAVERS   AND   THEIR   FOREFATHERS.         141 


Thirty  years  after  this  massacre,  iu  the  year  1598, 
the  edict  of  Nantes  was  promulgated  by  Henri  Quatre, 
which  guaranteed  liberty  of  conscience  to  the  Protes- 
tants, and  marked  for  France  the  end  of  the  middle 
ages.  It  was  sealed  with  the  great  seal  of  green  wax, 
which  testified  that  it  was  irrevocable.  Nevertheless, 
in  1684,  under  tlie  government  of  Louis  Quatorze,  all 
things  were  tending  towards  its  revocation.  It  was 
in  Poitou  that  the  king  first  essayed  the  terrible  means 
of  conversion  to  the  Catholic  faith,  afterwards  known 
by  the  name  of  dragonnades, 

>  "  This  was  a  military  mission,  by  which  dragoons 
were  sent  to  those  towns  in  Poitou  which  contained 
most  Huguenots.  They  were  quartered  in  the  poorest 
houses,  and  even  in  those  of  the  widows.  In  many 
places  the  priests  followed  them  in  the  streets,  calling 
out,  '  Courage,  gentlemen ;  it  is  the  king's  intention 
that  these  dogs  of  Huguenots  should  be  pillaged  and 
sacked.'  The  soldiers  entered  the  houses  with  uplifted 
swords,  sometimes  crying,  *  Kill,  kill,'  to  frighten  the 
women  and  children.  As  long  as  the  inhabitants  had 
wherewithal  to  satisfy  them  they  were  only  pillaged  ; 
but  when  the  price  of  their  furniture  was  spent,  and 
their  clothes  and  ornaments  sold,  they  were  seized  by 
the  hair  to  be  dragged  to  church,  or  tortured  in  their 
houses  to  convert  them  I  The  feet  and  hands  of  some 
were  burned  at  a  slow  fire ;  the  ribs  and  limbs  of 


ti 

% 

.|:",     i 

,:- 1 

f':          \ 

Si 

:■'!   ,       \ 

■, 

w 


142 


THE    MIHSING    LINK. 


others  broken  with  blows  of  sticks.  Several  had  their 
lips  burned  with  red-hot  irons ;  and  others  were 
thrown  into  damp  dungeons,  to  be  left  to  die. 

"  The  newspapers  of  the  Hague  and  Amsterdam  in- 
formed Protestant  Europe  of  those  odious  acts,  and 
one  long  cry  of  indignation  arose  in  Holland,  Eng- 
land, and  Germany  ;  but  the  French  Gazette  was 
filled  with  lists  of  *  converts,'  and  the  court  was  daz- 
zled by  such  marvellous  success.  *  I  think  there  will 
be  no  Protestants  left  in  Poitu  but  our  own  relations,' 
wrote  Madame  de  Maintenon  to  her  brother.  '  It 
seems  to  me  that  everybody  is  becoming  converted.' 
These  horrors,  and  worse  than  these,  extended  to  other 
provinces  ;  and  the  constancy  of  many  suflferers  yielded 
to  the  prolonged  rigor  of  their  torments.  Vast  num- 
bers fled  their  country ;  and  at  last,  on  the  22d  of 
October,  1685,  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  was  signed. 
'The  temples  of  the  Protestants  were  to  be  demol- 
ished, and  all  exercise  of  their  worship  to  cease  ;  their 
schools  were  to  be  closed,  and  all  their  children  to  be 
baptized  into  the  Church  of  Rome,  while  the  prcoerty 
of  those  who  fled  was  to  be  confiscated.' 

"  And  this  was  fulfilled  to  the  letter.  On  the  very 
day  of  the  revocation  began  the  demolition  of  the 
great  temple  at  Charenton,  built  to  contain  14,000 
persons,  and  in  five  days  no  trace  of  the  structure  re- 
mained.    Cheyron  delivered  a  farewell  sermon  in  the 


TnR  WEAVERS   AND   THEIR   FOREFATHERS.        143 


lery 
the 

1,000 
re- 
the 


celebrated  temple  of  Nismes,  and  exhorted  his  flock  to 
bo  atoadtast  even  unto  death.  Their  temple  was  soon 
but  a  lioap  of  ruins,  in  tlie  midst  of  wliich  was  long 
remarked  a  stone,  which  liad  surmounted  the  over- 
tlirown  portico,  with  this  inscription  — '  This  is  the 
house  of  God,  this  the  gate  of  heaven.'  The  Protestants 
bolield  the  destruction  of  their  800  places  of  worsliip, 
and  the  Roman  Church  declared  that  heresy  was  no 


more. 


» 


About  80,000  refugees,  according  to  the  registers  of 
the  French  Church  in  London,  appear  to  have  estal)- 
lished  themselves  in  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
during  tlio  ten  years  that  preceded  or  followed  the  re- 
vocation of  the  Edict,  and  at  least  one-third  of  these 
settled  in  the  metropolis. 

From  the  year  1686  to  1688  the  French  Consistory 
in  London  met  once  every  week,  being  occupied  almost 
entirely  in  receiving  the  marks  of  repentance  from 
those  persons  who,  after  abjuring  their  faith  to  avoid 
death,  had  escaped  from  their  persecutors,  and  resumed 
in  a  more  tolerant  country  the  religion  they  preferred 
to  their  native  land.  The  ministers  examined  their 
testimony,  heard  the  narrative  of  their  suffermgs,  and 
received  them  back  into  communion  with  thoir  breth- 
ren. In  1687,  during  the  month  of  May  alone,  497 
persons  wore  thus  re-admitted  into  the  church  they  had 
appealed  to  abandon. 


m 


'IT 


m 


i 


i 


!i 


144 


THE   MIHSING    LINK. 


Their  return  for  their  hospitable  reception  in  Eng- 
land, and  for  benefits  then  received,  was  fourfold. 
They  imparted  to  our  trade  and  manufactures  an  im- 
mense impulse,  the  effects  of  which  are  felt  to  the  pres- 
ent day.  English  paper  was,  up  to  that  period,  of 
inferior  'duality,  and  of  a  greyish  color.  These  exiles 
brought  with  them  the  secrets  of  a  finer  manufacture 
in  this  article,  as  well  as  in  silks,  velvets,  and  light 
tissues  of  linen  and  wool.  They  also  understood  the 
superior  fabrication  of  glass,  hardware,  cutlery,  clocks, 
and  watches,  so  that  such  articles  were  no  longer 
sought  from  the  Continent ;  and  the  French  ambassa- 
dor was  known  to  have  made  brilliant  offers  to  certain 
distinguished  artisans  to  return  to  France  for  this  rea- 
son. Buii  it  was  too  late  :  the  secrets  were  divulged. 
Religious  persecution  had  driven  more  ^han  half  her 
weavers  from  her  bosom.  In  1698  the  looms  of  Lyons 
had  decreased  from  18,000  to  4000  ;  and  out  of  20,000 
workmen  who  manufactured  fine  linen  at  Laval,  more 
than  14,000  had  quitted  the  kingdom. 

It  was  not  in  trade  and  manufactures  alone  that  the 
refugees  enriched  England.  The  French  church  in 
Threadneedle  street  for  five  years  had  for  its  pastor 
the  eloquent  Jacques  Saurin,  before  he  was  called  to 
the  Hague ;  and,  as  far  as  the  difference  of  language 
permitted,  great  must  have  been  the  private  influence 
of  those  who,  as  a  body,  were  sufferers  for  the  truth. 


THE   WEAVERS   AND   THEIR   FOREFATHERS. 


145 


One  of  tlicm,  Graverol  of  Nismes,  wrote  a  book,  which 
contains  an  affecting  narrative  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
Protestants  of  Languedoc.  **  Wo,"  says  he,  "  who  arc 
in  a  country  so  remote  from  ours  only  for  the  sake  of 
God's  Word,  and  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ, — 
lot  us  study  to  render  our  confession  and  our  faitli 
glorious  by  discreet  and  modest  conduct,  by  an  exem- 
plary life,  and  by  an  entire  devotion  to  the  service  of 
God.  Let  us  ever  bear  in  mind  that  we  are  the  sons 
and  the  fathers  of  martyrs.  Let  us  never  forget  this 
glory,  but  strive  to  transmit  it  to  our  posterity." 

During  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV,  and  long  after- 
wards, many  of  these  emigrants  did  not  givr  up  the 
hope  of  returning  to  their  country  ;  but  their  peti- 
tions and  aims  to  do  so  were  in  vain.  Temperate  in 
habits,  and  accustomed  to  toil,  most  of  them  gradually 
worked  their  way  to  competency,  and  some  even  to 
wealth.  They  became  able  to  relieve  their  suffering 
brethren,  still  languishing  in  galleys  and  dungeons 
for  their  faith  ;  and  the  Vaudois  had  tlieir  shade  of 
this  fraternal  charity. 

Many  thousands  of  these  exiles  had  settled  in 
Spitalfields,  then,  like  its  neighboring  district  of 
Bethnal  Green,  an  open  space  of  ground  without  the 
city  walls,  belonging  to  the  Hospital  or  VSpital  of  St. 
Austin.  These  spaces  did  not,  till  the  beginning  of 
the   eighteenth  centurv,   become  fullv  covered  with 


I 


.1 

W  1 


'it 

iV 


mmnn 


146 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


houses  as  the  seat  of  the  silk  manufacture.  The  starv- 
ing French  refugees  were  at  first  relieved  by  a  purlia- 
mentury  vote  of  £15,000  a  year  ;  but  God  prospering 
their  Industry,  the  silk  trade  had  in  1713  attained 
Buch  importance,  that  upwards  of  300,000  persons  were 
maintained  by  it  in  England. 

For  a  long  time  the  population  of  thes<?  districts 
conUnued  to  be  exclusively  French  ;  that  language 
was  universally  spoken ;  and,  within  the  memory  of 
persons  now  living,  worship  was  performed  in  French 
in  the  chapels  erected  by  the  pious  refugees.  Here 
were  to  be  found  French  coffee-houses  ;  French  songs 
were  sung  in  the  streets,  French  manners  prevailed, 
and  the  houses  wore  many  of  them  built  in  the  old 
French  style,  with  porticoe;  and  seats  at  the  doors, 
where  the  weavers  on  summer  evenings  enjoyed  their 
pipes,  and  chatted  in  their  own  tongue. 

During  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries  their 
descendants  have  been,  however,  gradually  blending 
with  English  families,  and  even  changing  their  names 
by  translation.  The  Lemaitres  have  become  Masters ; 
the  Leroui,  Kiiigs ;  the  Tonneliers,  Coopers  ;  the  Le- 
jevnes,  Youngs ;  the  Lcblancs,  Whites  ;  and  Lenoir s^ 
Blacks.  The  chief  vestiges  of  the  old  French  colony 
are  now  to  be  found  in  Bethnal  Green. 

"  In  the  last  hundred  years,"  said  the  preacher  to  his 
congregation,  *'  very  great  changes  have  taken  place. 


THE   WEAVERS  AND  THEIR  FOREFATHERS. 


147 


ling 

limes 

)rs; 

Le- 


nrs. 


ony 


his 


ice. 


The  French  language  is  no  more  spoken  among  you. 
You  have  many  of  you  translnted  your  very  names  in- 
to English.  The  Lord  greatly  blessed  your  fathers  in 
this  place  ;  but  you,  their  children,  have  forsak'^n 
their  altars — their  temples  jf  worship  are  deserted, 
shut  up,  or  sold.  You  are  a  poor  and  wretched  peo- 
^>le.  Because  you  have  departed  from  the  Ood  of 
your  fathers,  you  are  being  chastised  for  your  sins  ; 
and  your  troubles  are  only  beginning  to  set  in  upon 
you,  from  which  you  will  not  be  delivered  unless 
you  repent  and  return."  He  then  pointed  them, 
with  affectionate  earnestness,  to  the  Saviour  of  sin- 
ners. 

The  service  ended,  and  the  audience  dispersed. 
Among  them  were  some  of  the  leading  men  of  the  silk 
trade  ;  but  by  them  the  summons  seemed  to  pass  un- 
heeded, and  the  trouble?  of  the  artisan  portion  of  the 
listeners  continued  to  increase. 

One  of  these  latter,  however,  a  poor  and  humble 
indi  vidua'.,  had  licard  that  night  a  history  he  never 
heard  before,  and  it  made  an  impression  on  him  tliat 
was  never  forgotten.  He  had  been  apprenticed  as  a 
weaver,  and  was  lookeu  upon  by  the  maecers  us  an 
intelligent  man,  having  much  influence  with  liis  fellow- 
workmen.  Shortly  after  he  heard  this  sermon  he  was 
laid  aside  by  sickness,  and  for  a  year  and  a  lialf  was 
in  a  hospital,  during  which  season  of  rest  the  thou,i»lit 


P 


148 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


grew  in  his  mind  that  he  would  try  and  find  fifty 
Christian  weavers  who  might  prove  the  first  lay  evan- 
gelists of  their  class  in  Bethnal  Green. 

He  recovered,  and  the  resolve  was  fulfilled,  slowly 
and  surely.  He  found  first  ten  Christian  weavers, 
then  twenty,  thirty,  forty,  amid  a  mass  of  careless, 
thoughtless,  depraved  infidels ;  and  these  formed  them- 
selves into  what  they  called  a  "  Christian  Society  of 
Operative  Silk  Weavers,"  which  has  many  honored 
names  attached  to  it  as  a  committee  of  reference. 

This  is  a  little  seed  of  what  may  be  a  large  and 
glorious  future.  The  society  has  published  seventeen 
annual  reports.  They  have  one  place  of  worship  at 
Thorold-square,  Bethnal  Green  Road,  with  various 
Schools,  Charitable  Associations,  and  Missions  attach- 
ed to  it — one  especially  to  Victoria  Park,  the  great 
outlet  for  this  part  of  the  population  on  the  Lord's 
dav. 

On  the  26th  of  October,  1858,  the  Rev.  A.  T.  Mar- 
zials,  minister  of  the  French  church  at  St.  Martin 's-le- 
Grand,  with  his  family,  complied  with  an  invitation 
sent  them  by  this  poor  and  humble  little  flock  to  a  tea- 
meeting,  at  which  about  sixty  persons  were  present, 
and  everything  was  conducted  in  ^^^ry  plain  and 
simple  style.  In  the  room  where  the  meeting  was  held 
was  observed  a  tablet,  bearing  the  following  inscrip- 
tion : — 


THE  WEAVERS   AND   THEIR   FOREFATHERS. 


149 


Mar- 
's-le- 
iation 
a  tea- 
isent, 
and 
held 
jcrip- 


THE 


CHRISTIAN  SOCIETY  OF  OPERATIVE  SILK  WEAVERS. 


THIS    TABLET 

WAS  ERECTED  BY  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE 

SOCIETY, 

On  Wednesday,  July  16th,  1846, 

AS  A  PUBLIC    DECLARATION    OF  THEIR 

FAITH, 

THAT   or   LATB  TBABS  THE    SUFFBBmOB  OF  THK    BILK   WXAYBB8    HATB 
BEEN    OBBATLT   AOOBAVATED 
THBOVeH    A    DEPASTUBE    FBOH    THOSE    PBINCIPLE8    OF    PIBTT 
WHICH    ENABLED    THEIB    FOBEFATHEBS, 

THE  FRENCH  REFUGEES, 

WHO  PIANTED  THE  SILK  TRADE  IN 

SPITALFIELDS, 

TO    ENDURE  THE  LOSS  OF  ALL   TH      'IS;— 

ALSO    TO    BECOBD    THEIB    IKTENTION    TO    EBEOT    A  HOUSE    FOB    OOD 

AS    A    PVBLIO    EXFBE8SI0K  OF   TIISIB    DESIRE 

TO    BETT7BM    TO  HIU,    AND    A    UEAN    TO  BECOTEB    THE  DIVINB    BLEBSINa. 


"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  ;  Ctonsidor  your  ways.  Go  up  to  the 
mountain,  and  bring  wood,  and  build  the  house  ;  and  I  will  take  pleasure 
in  it,  and  I  will  bo  glorified,  saith  the  Lord.  Ye  looked  for  much,  and,  lo, 
it  came  to  little  ;  and  when  ye  brought  it  home,  I  did  blow  upon  it.  Why  ? 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  Because  of  mine  house  that  is  w.iste,  and  ye  run 
every  man  unto  his  own  house." — Haggai  i,  7-9. 


In  the  course  of  the  evening  many  interesting  state- 
ments were  made  by  parties  present,  amongst  whom 
were  the  Rev.  G.  Huelins  (the  last  minister  among  the 


150 


THE    MISSING    LINK. 


A 


French  refugees,  but  now  a  niinistcr  of  the  Church  of 
England),  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tacchclla,  from  Pied- 
mont. It  was  noticed  tliat  ma'  /  men  who  had  attain- 
ed eminence  in  different  branches  of  practical  science 
had  come  out  of  Spitalficlds.  The  well-known  Dol- 
lond,  senior,  the  improver  of  the  telescope,  was  at  one 
time  a  werver.  Simpson  and  Edwards,  the  lights  of 
the  mathematical  world,  were  taken  by  government 
from  their  looms  to  teach  the  cadets  at  Woolwich  and 
Chatham.  Simpson  came  down  from  the  loom  in  a 
green  baize  apron  to  the  gentleman  who  was  in  search 
of  him.  "  I  want  to  see  the  Mr.  Simpson  who  wrote 
the  work  on  fluxions,"  said  the  inquirer.  "  I  am  that 
Mr.  Simpson,"  was  the  reply  ;  and  perceiving  that  his 
visitor  looked  incredulous,  ho  added,  "  If  you  will 
come  up  stairs  I  will  show  you  the  manuscript  at  the 
loom."  The  new  engagement  took  place,  and  on 
being  asked  when  he  would  fulfil  it,  he  replied, 
*'  When  I  have  finished  the  piece  in  tlie  frame." 

In  contrast  to  tlie  mathematical,  historical,  and 
floricultural  societies  existing  in  this  district  in  a  past 
generation,  were  brought  forward  many  proofs  of  the 
religious  and  moral  degeneracy  of  the  people,  and  of 
the  heathenism  prevailing  in  these  districts  at  present. 
Sketches  were  especially  given  of  the  Sabbatli-break- 
ing  in  Brick-lane  and  Club-row,  together  with  ac- 
counts of  the  want  of  education  among  the  child i  on  of 


THE    WEAVERS  AND   THEIR   FOREFATHERS. 


151 


the  Frencli  refugees,  arising  from  tlie  necessity  that 
the  parents  feel  to  make  something  by  the  labor  of 
their  children,  to  eke  out  their  scanty  means  of  living, 
now  that  such  low  prices  are  paid  for  their  woi'k. 

The  resolution  was  made  at  tliis  meeting  that  monthly 
services,  especially  for  the  descendants  of  the  French 
refugees,  should  be  held  in  the  different  chapels  in  the 
weaving  districts,  once  belonging  to  them.  This  took 
effect  on  the  21st  of  November,  when  a  sermon  was 
preached  at  La  Patente  Chapel,  Brown's-lane,  Spitn'- 
fields,  the  first  temple  built  by  the  exiles,  at  wiiich  800 
or  900  persons  were  present ;  and  on  the  19th  of  De- 
cember, at  tlie  fine  old  "  French  Temple,"  called  Spital- 
field's  Chapel,  which  has  been  repaired  and  occupied 
by  the  Wesleyans  since  the  year  1819. 

The  good  and  humble  man,  who  has  for  so  many 
years  lived  by  faith,  in  the  course  of  finding  his  fifty 
Christian  friends,  thus  sees  the  desire  of  his  heart  per- 
haps beginning  to  be  accomplished.  Among  the  opera- 
tions on  a  small  scale  sustained  by  liis  Society,  Open 
Air  Missions,  Tract  Distribution,  Maternity  Charity, 
Provident  Fund,  Temperance  Lectures,  and  all  other 
good  things  seem  included,  though,  perhaps,  the  one 
foundation  work  with  which  our  St.  Giles's  experience 
teaches  us  that  evangelical  labor  should  begin,  remains 
to  be  carried  out  on  a  larger  scale.  A  certain  num- 
ber of  Bibles  have,  however,  been  sold  at  half-price. 


'Ini 


nil 


Itl 
ft 


152 


THE  MISSING    LINK. 


and  now  the  offer  made  tliat  a  Mission  to  the  Motliors 
of  the  district,  by  one  of  themselves,  with  the  offer  of 
the  Word  of  God,  should  be  at  once  commenced,  was 
hailed  with  extreme  dolight. 

On  ascertaining  the  above  particulars,  a  buitable 
Female  Agent  appeared  at  once  to  arise  in  the  wife  of 
the  above-mentioned  individual,  who  has  been  most 
truly  and  long  his  helpmeet  in  his  work  of  faith  and 
labor  of  love.  Her  countenance  bespeaks  her  of 
French  descent.  She  is  the  "  Mary"  of  Victoria  Park 
district,  the  northern  portion  of  Bethnal  Green,  and 
we  would  solicit  for  her  the  helping  hand  of  all  who 
love  the  memory  of  the  old  Huguenots. 

She  commenced  her  labors  on  the  13th  of  December, 
1858,  and  has  since  that  time  sold  eighty-one  copies  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  found  fifty-seven  subscribers  for 
clothing  and  beds.  The  Christian  people  among  the 
weavers,  with  whom  she  is  particularly  associated,  held 
a  special  prayer-meeting  to  ask  that  God  would  pre- 
pare her  heart  for  the  work,  and  the  hearts  of  the 
people  to  receive  her  ;  and  the  answer  to  this  prayer 
is  found  in  many  instances  of  an  encouraging  nature. 
One  person,  who  is  a  professed  infidel,  is  nevertheless 
subscribing  to  her  for  a  Bible,  and  she  is  extremely 
well  received  generally.  She  has  a  helper  in  her  work 
in  a  "  turner  on,"  one  who  is  reckoned  an  "  upper-class 
man"  among  the  weavers.     He  has  to  place  the  silk  ou 


THE   WEAVERS    AND   THEIR    FOREFATHERS. 


153 


the  roller  for  each  artisan  ;  and  as  they  bring  hira  their 
silk,  he  speaks  to  them  of  the  Bible  and  the  Bible- 
woman,  and  has  already  obtained  for  her  several  sub- 
scribers, himself  and  his  wife  becoming  the  first  pur- 
chasers. The  people  generally  give  the  Bible-woman 
a  kind  welcome,  begging  her  to  "  turn  in  and  rest,"  or 
to  "  eat  and  drink  with  them."  Oh,  that  a  large  out- 
pouring of  the  Holy  Spirit's  influence  might  bear  wit- 
ness with  the  Written  Word  to  these  descendants  of  a 
godly  race  of  old,  to  whom  England  owes  so  much ! 
They  have  richly  repaid  to  her  the  refuge  she  afforded 
them  in  their  evil  day.  The  gates  of  France  have 
now  for  sixty  years  been  thrown  open  to  the  posterity 
of  Protestant  exiles  ;  bi^t,  though  some  have  returned 
to  the  country  of  their  ancestors,  many  children  of  the 
fugitives  still  rest  with  us  ;  and  why,  but  that  we  may 
seek  to  restore  them  to  the  faith  and  the  Book  for  which 
tlicir  fathers  suffered  ? 


CHAPTER  XII. 


REBECCA   IN  SHOREDITCH. 


Before  we  leave  the  North-east  London  District, 
comprising  all  that  lies  above  the  White-chapel  road, 
we  must  take  some  note  of  the  need  of  the  poor  in 
Shoreditch  and  Hackney,  especially  that  part  of  Hack- 
ney bordering  on  Bethnal  Green. 

Here  also  are  found  many  weavers.  A  lady  living 
in  this  direction  had  heard  of  the  employment  of  a 
"  Bible-woman"  in  Exeter,  and  that  such  an  agency  liad 
arisen  from  the  perusal  of  articles  in  the  "  Book  and 
its  ^lissions."  She  ascertained  particulars  by  corres- 
pondence, and  being  already  a  member  of  a  Ladies' 
Bil>le  Association,  and  well  acquainted  with  Bible 
work,  soon  selected  a  woman,  whose  fitness  was  well 
known  to  her,  for  her  own  locality,  and,  obtaining  a 
small  grant  from  the  Bible  Society,  so  tilled  her  hands 
with  Bible  work,  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  Hagger- 
stone  district,  that  she  brought  in  X3  a  month  to  the 
Committee.  Meanwhile  the  lady  became  acquainted 
with  the  superadded  domestic  aims  of  the  mission,  and 
obtained  from  friends  £2  towards  their  commencement. 

(154) 


REBECCA    iN   8H0REDITCH. 


155 


Slic  then  came  into  personal  communication  with  the 
Treasurer,  and  X5  were  gladly  ofifcred  from  our  Gene- 
ral Fund  for  the  prosecution  of  her  design,  with  a 
promise  of  more  as  needed.  Shoreditch  was  added  to 
the  field  of  labor,  and  after  the  following  fashion  the 
work  began. 

"  I  spent  Wednesday  with  our  *  Rebecca,'  "  says  the 
Superintending  Lady,  "  in  visiting  the  miserable  courts 
and  alleys.     I  had  never  been  there  before,  and  I  think 
more  dismal  human  dwellings  could  hardly  be  seen 
I  could  not  ascertain  that  there  was  any  Christian 

visitation  whatever.     We  went  to  B Buildings, 

D Court,  H Court,  and  C Gardens,  hop- 
ing to  find  a  suitable  room  for  Mission  purposes  ;  but 
the  houses  all  seemed  woefully  overcrowded.  Many 
of  the  women  were  out  selling  in  the  street ;  the  chil- 
dren informed  us,  '  Mother  is  at  the  stall.'  I  was  very 
much  pleased  with  our  reception.  As  we  entered  one 
court  a  woman  ran  across  to  make  our  coming  known, 
and  then  there  was  quite  a  group  to  hear  if  the  room 
was  taken.  I  had  no  idea  we  should  find  it  so  difficult 
to  procure  a  suitable  place.     A  furnished  parlor  in 

U street  seemed  the  only  one  to  be  met  with  at 

all  within  our  means,  and  for  that  we  are  to  give  2s. 
per  week,  and  have  the  use  of  it  whenever  we  like. 

There  was  one  I  preferred  in  D Court,  but  it  was 

3s.,  and  perhaps  U street  is  more  central  for  all. 


II 


ft 


156 


THE   MIS8INQ   LINK. 


I  suppose  that  it  will  be  better  to  take  a  room  entirely 
for  Mission  use  when  we  can  meet  with  one.  We  have 
purchased,  as  you  recommended,  calico,  .rint,  flannel, 
&c.,  but  have  not  yet  visited  Spitalfields  about  the  beds 
and  bedding. 

"We  invited  some  into  the  room  on  Wednesday, 
to  commence  paying  in  ;  and  thirteen  made  their  first 
small  payments,  and  a  few  others  came  to  see,  and  will 
begin  next  time.  One  poor  man  said, '  My  wife,  from 
her  bed,  where  she  has  long  been  confined  with  rheu- 
matism, overheard  you  telling  about  it,  and  I  have 
brought  a  penny  for  a  sheet.'  Another  woman  said, 
'  My  girl  is  going  to  the  Christian  Palace  with  her 
school,  and  I  should  like  her  to  have  a  new  pinafore.' 

"  I  had  no  idea  that  this  opportunity  of  getting 
clothes  by  their  own  payments  would  be  rt  arded  as 
such  a  proof  that  they  were  really  cared  for." 

In  another  week  it  is  added  : — 

"We  have  found  a  Mission-room  which  has  two 

doors  ;  one  opens  into  U Buildings,  the  other  into 

H Court.    The  second  time,  the  same  people  came, 

and  brought  others.  They  entered  by  the  front  door, 
and  we  sent  them  out  by  the  back  to  say  what  was 
doing ;  and  still  more  came  running  in  with,  '  We 
never  see  the  likes  of  you  in  these  parts.'  We  have 
now  forty  subscribers  for  clothing  and  bedding.  Into 
what  scenes  of  life  are  we  penetrating !    The  drunken 


REBECCA    IN    SHOHEDITCH. 


157 


raen  are  outnumbered  by  the  drunken  women  !  I  inclose 
a  morsel  of  journal.  'Rebecca'  proposes  to  meet  in 
her  room  wlioever  will  come  on  Sabbath  afternoons, 
as  well  as  in  the  week.     This  is  the  response  : — 

"  One  poor  woman  wlio  sells  water-cresses  declares 
tliat  her  husband  must  go  her  rounds  and  his  own  too 
on  Sundays  ;  '  for/  she  added,  '  I  s'pose  you  mean  to 
read  suramut  to  us  out  of  your  Book.  There's  a  good 
many  of  us  who  can't  read,  and  this  makes  us  more 
consarned  that  the  young  'uns  should.  When  they 
comes  from  school,  and  tells  us  what  tliey  larn,  we 
wishes  we  could  read  for  ourselves.'  '  I  wish,'  said  a 
man,  *  the  great  'uns  had  a  thought  of  this  plan  afore  ; 
we  should  a  seen  fewer  pipes  in  the  young  'uns  mouths, 
and  heard  fewer  oaths  out  of  'em.'  " 

After  this  Sunday  reading  meeting  came  a  little  tea- 
meeting,  or  what  was  to  have  been  one.  "  On  Wednes- 
day," Rebecca  says,  "  I  fear  1  have  wasted  both  tea 
and  time  ;  for  at  five  o'clock  none  of  the  persons  that 
promised  on  Sunday  afternoon  made  their  appearance. 
I  fear  they  were  oflf,  as  I  was  told,  'on  the  fly.' 

"  At  last  a  knock  came,  and  I  opened  the  door  to 
one  of  the  lads  who  had  come  to  me  on  Sunday.  'I  'm 
one  of  the  club,  ma'am,'  he  said ;  '  mayn't  I  come  to 
the  tea-meeting?'  Seeing  me  liesitate,  he  added,  'It's 
oil  right,  ma'am  ;  you  ax  the  old  woman'  (meaning  his 
mother), '  and  she  '11  tell  you  how  I  gives  her  a  penny 


# 

H 


M 


168 


THE   MISSlN(i    LINK. 


every  blessed  week  since  you  told  her  on  it.  You  sees 
I  want  some  togs  ; '  and  truly  he  was  a  bundle  of  rags, 
and  withal  looked  so  cold  and  hungry,  that  I  could 
not  resist  the  impulse  to  let  him  come  in  and  warm  his 
hands,  and  bid  him  eat. 

"  While  I  was  cutting  him  some  bread  and  butter 
he  showed  his  delight  by  repeating  what  he  had  heard 
on  the  Sunday.  Suddenly  he  broke  out  with, '  Oh,  I  say, 
ma'am  I  you  shouldn't  have  took  it  so  quiet  when  that 
cove  at  No.  5  in  our  court  went  on  so  at  you  for  asking 
his  wife  to  come  to  tea.  I  suld  have  liked  to  have 
gi'en  him  his  own,  and  suramut  to  boot,  only  you 
looked  smiling  like  at  him,  and  I  thought  you  wouldn't 
be  pleaded.  But  I  say,  ma'am,  would  you  have  let  he 
come  to  tea  ? ' 

"  *  Perhaps  I  might,'  said  I.    *  But  did  you  not  hear 
him  say  we  had  a  purpose  in  getting  the  people  in 
here  ? ' 
"  *  And  have  you  ?  '  he  asked. 
"  '  Of  course  I  have/  I  replied.    '  Cannot  you  guess 
what  it  is  ? ' 

"  He  paused  a  few  moments,  and  then  bringing  the 
basin  he  had  in  his  hand  down  on  to  the  tea-tray  with 
a  bang,  he  said,  inquiringly,  '  Is  it  to  read  to  Jiem  out 
of  your  book' — pointing  to  a  Bible  that  lay  on  the 
table — '  and  to  talk  as  you  did  last  Sunday  about  Jesus, 
and  the  great  white  throne,  that  will  be  in  the  clouds  ?' 


REBECCA    IN   SHOREDITCH. 


169 


5S9 


'•  *  Yes/  said  I,  *  tliat  is  my  purpose.  I  have  much 
to  tell  yoa  about  Jesus ;  and  then  I  want  to  show 
those  who  do  not  know,  how  to  make  the  tilings  they 
buy  of  me.' 

"He  opened  his  eyes  to  their  full  extent,  gulped 
down  a  great  mouthful  of  bread  and  butter,  and  then 
added,  '  Do  you  mean  to  say  as  if  I  had  bought  the 
stuflf  for  a  jacket  you'd  show  the  old  woman  how  to 
make  it  ?' 

"'Yes,' said  I. 

"  '  Well,  then,  you  are  a  stunner  !  I  shall  like  you, 
I  know,  and  I'll  bring  'em  ;'  and  so  ended  my  first  in- 
tended tea-meeting." 

A  large  clothing  club  has  arisen  out  of  "  Rebecca's" 
earnest  commencement.  After  three  months'  labor 
tlie  lady  again  writes : — "  The  great  demand  which 
the  sale  of  clothing  makes  upon  my  time  has  led  me 
too  often  to  neglect  the  duty  of  recording  our  work. 
How  to  lessen  whit  we  may  call  our  shopkeeping  re- 
sponsibilities I  do  not  know,  and  yet  I  feel  desirous  to 
secure  leisure  for  things  still  more  important. 

"  Hardly  a  week  passes  without  onr  receiving  fresh 
applicants  desirous  to  subscribe  for  calicoes,  flannels, 
and  prints ;  and  the  usual  remark  is,  'Ah  I  my  poor 
children  would  not  have  been  seen  in  rags  if  this  had 
begun  before'  Our  first  duty,  or  the  one  that  im- 
mediately follows  on  the  offer  of  the  Word  of  God 


al 


lit 

rl 


K^ 


160 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


for  their  own  purchase,  is  to  give  these  poor  creatures 
the  opportunity  of  providing  themselves  with  decent 
clothing.  Our  aim  in  doing  so  is  fully  appreciated,  and 
brings  us  into  friendly  contact  with  the  people  at  once. 

"  The  division  of  the  Shoreditch  and  Haggerstone 
districts,  which  now  afford  quite  work  enough  for  two 
women,  hi;  taken  up  much  time.  '  Rebecca' has  in- 
troduced 'Dorothy'  to  her  new  vocation.  In  their 
first  call  they  met  a  City  Missionary,  who  was  also 
paying  his  earliest  visit  on  the  district,  and  as  it  was 
at  the  house  of  a  Christian  woman,  they  knelt  together 
to  ooek  a  blessing,  recognizing  in  this  accidental  meet- 
ing the  voice  of  God  calling  them  to  united  prayer  as 
the  commencement  of  new  duties. 

"The  Haggerstone  district  will  henceforth  have 
*  Rebecca's'  undivided  attention,  but  she  is  not  content 
to  lose  dght  of  the  warm-hearted  Shoreditch  boy 
formerly  mentioned,  who  has  quite  adopted  her  as  a 
new  kind  of  mother  to  him.  A  kind  friend  sent  him 
some  clothing  through  her  means,  and  she  likewise 
obtained  work  for  him  at  a  type-foundry.  She  has 
reason  to  believe  he  will  receive  yet  more  lasting 
blessing,  and  never  cease  to  thank  God  that  ae  was 
the  Bible-woman's  first  friend  at  the  tea -meeting. 
'  Rebecca'  has  a  very  long  list  of  Bible  subscribers, 
and  many  sick  persons  expect  a  frequent  and  helpful 
visit  from  her. 


REBECCA   IN   SHOREDITCH. 


161 


"  One  of  her  earliest  calls  was  made  on  a  poor  young 
woman  lying  in  intense  suflfering,  whose  rough,  un- 
godly husband,  increased  by  his  profaneness  the 
misery  of  her  lot.  He  hardly  ever  spoke  without  an 
oath.  The  hand  of  God,  however,  pressed  heavily 
upon  him,  and  his  favorite  child  was  taken  from  him. 
Rebecca  continued  her  visits  and  conversation  with 
his  wife,  and  although  he  had  not  attended  either 
church  or  chapel  for  years,  when  his  wife  recovered, 
instead  of  opposing  her  wish  to  go,  to  her  great  sur- 
prise he  accompanied  her  to  a  place  of  worship,  seem- 
ing, however,  to  sleep  during  the  service. 

"  How  different  now  is  Ids  appearance  in  the  house 
of  prayer !  Eyes,  ears  and  mouth  wide  open,  as  if  he 
would  drink  in  the  Gospel  Message.  He  has  been 
visited  by  a  dream  in  the  night,  and,  from  the  great 
present  change  in  his  life  and  conversation,  we  cannot 
doubt  that  it  came  from  God.  '  I  thought  I  was  in 
torment,'  he  says,  '  and  the  Saviour  tried  to  save  me, 
but  it  was  too  late,  and  I  was  lost.'  He  woke  trem- 
bling with  terror,  and  crying  out,  '  What  must  I  do  to 
be  saved  ?'  He  has  found  peace  in  Jesus,  and  speaks 
with  delight  of  being  *  a  new  creature.'  His  wife  says 
that  all  his  old  discontent  has  passed  away,  and  that 
a  heart  happy  in  Christ  makes  a  happy  home.  He 
embraces  all  opportunities  of  attending  Bible-classes 
and  meetings  (for  he  cannot  read),  and  evidently  most 


^  I' 


h 


$i 


i 


% 


162 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


earnestly  desires  religious  coaching ;  and  that  which 
he  receives  he  communicates.  He  tells  his  fellow- 
workmen,  '  My  lads,  ye  think  yer  better  scholars 
than  I  am  ;  but  I  think  the  Lord  thinks  I  am  the  best, 
for  now  I  know  his  will,  I'll  try  and  do  it.'  It  is 
\  ery  interesting  to  hear  him  narrate  his  conversations 
at  the  lime-works ;  his  companions  certainly  hear 
startling  truth  from  him,  and  must  wonder  at  the 
cliange.  0  that  more  such  witnesses  may  be  raised 
up,  and  that  the  faithful  words, '  Know  the  Lord,'  may 
be  heard  by  every  ear  1" 

"  Rebecca"  passed  over  to  "  Dorothy"  the  new  Bi- 
ble-woman for  this  district,  the  names  ot  twenty  sub- 
scribers ;  and  the  first  week  "  Dorothy"  went  alone  she 
obtained  ten  more.  Slio  is  always  received  with  civil- 
ity, and  by  many  of  the  people  is  warmly  welcomed. 

"  Some  years  ago  she  was  engaged  in  a  ragged- 
school  in  this  very  district,  and  relinquished  its  duties 
on  account  of  the  long-continued  illness  of  her  husband. 
She  has  met  with  two  or  three  of  the  parents  of  her 
former  pupils,  and  with  one  of  her  early  scholars,  now 
a  young  woman,  who  confessed,  with  tears,  that  she 
had  so  far  forgotten  the  instructions  received  in  child- 
hood as  to  be  unable  to  read.  *  Dorothv '  told  her  that 
notliing  would  give  her  more  pleasure  than  to  be  again 
her  teacher,  and  thus  to  place  in  her  hand  the  key  to 
the  treasures  of  God's  holy  Word. 


' 


» 


1 


REBECCA   IN   SHOBEDITCH. 


163 


"  I  send  you,"  says  her  lady  friend,  "  a  short  extract 
from  her  journal : — 

" '  Called  on  an  old  man,  and  when  I  told  him  ray 
errand  he  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears,  and  said  he  hoped 
it  was  not  too  late  for  him  to  begin  to  read  the  Bible. 
I  told  him  it  was  not,  and  strove  to  point  him  to  a 
Saviour.  He  seems  to  have  been  for  some  time  under 
convictions  of  sin,  but  has  had  no  one  to  take  him  bv 
the  hand  and  direct  him  to  Christ.  He  began  to  pay 
tox-  a  half-crown  Bible,  and  promised  to  send  his  daugh- 
ter to  a  Sunday-school. 

" '  Collected  in  B  —  Row,  &c.  Called  on  a  poor 
widow  who  keeps  a  little  shop,  which  she  has  closed 
every  Sunday  for  some  months,  in  consequence  of 
something  she  hoard  said  in  a  service  she  attended, 
conducted  by  a  City  Missionary.  She  says  she  has 
lost  a  great  deal  of  custom  by  the  change,  but  that  she 
shall  never  open  again  on  the  Sabbath.  Last  week 
she  was  robbed  by  a  lodger  of  the  greatest  part  of  her 
bedding,  so  that  to  her  the  news  of  the  clothing  and 
bedding  to  be  paid  for  by  instalments  was  very  wel- 
come.' " 

To  both  the  last-mentioned  individuals  how  welcome 
proved  the  call  of  the  good  visitor  of  their  own  class — 
one  to  wliom  they  could  express  their  sorrows,  and 
who  "  knew  how  to  feel  for  them  I"  A  poor  woman, 
with  the  "  Message  from  God "  in  hei-  hand,  is  found 


A 


164 


THE  MISSINQ   LINK 


the  most  sympathizing  and  suitable  instrument  to  ob- 
tain admission  to  their  miserable  abodes ;  and,  while 
fuUilling  her  first  errand  to  sell  the  book,  she  leads 
them,  meanwhile,  no  longer  to  seek  mere  relief  from 
the  rich  (which,  when  obtained,  is  most  often  squan- 
dered), but  to  depend  upon  themselves  for  all  the 
necessary  comforts  that  shall  reform  their  homes  :  thus 
she  secures  their  rise  by  their  own  efforts  out  of 
their  depths  of  filth  and  degradation. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 


8EBTCHES   1^   LIMEHOUSE   FIELDS,   WHITEGHAPEL,   AND 

SHADWBLL. 

Into  all  that  lies  below  the  Whitechapel  Road,  and 
between  that  boundary  and  the  river,  we  are  only 
beginning  to  make  research.  We  know  that  many  a 
faithful  laborer  has  gone  before  us,  and  that  each  true 
agency  has  brought  home  some  wandering  souls.  We 
find,  however,  enough  work  left. 

In  LiMEHOusE  Fields  we  have  a  steady,  persevering 
"  Prijicilla,'"  who  gets  on  admirably.  Her  district 
was  pointed  out  for  her  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Ladies' 
Bible  Association  of  the  district,  the  voluntary  work 
of  which  is  described  to  be  "  in  rather  a  low  state." 
"  Priscilla,"  therefore,  entered  upon  it,  and  with  the 
help  of  a  colporter,  carrying  his  box  of  the  Bible  So- 
ciety Bibles,  has  obtained  in  the  first  month  one  hun- 
dred and  fourteen  subscribers  for  Bibles,  and  fifty-four 
for  clothing.  Her  superintendent  says,  "  It  is  a  most 
densely  populated  district.  She  has  visited  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-four  houses  in  one  street,  and  found 

(165) 


I 


!i 


166 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


two  families  in  almost  all.  Those  who  have  never 
visited  the  East  End  of  London  can  form  no  idea  of 
the  narrow  streets  and  teeming  population.  My  heart 
sinks  at  the  thought. 

"  The  people  are  very  poor  ;  they  are  coal-whippers, 
cot  .ermongers,  and  dock-men  ;  and  when  winds  are 
contrary,  so  that  the  shipping  cannot  get  up,  the  latter 
can  find  no  employment.  The  women  are  chiefly  em- 
ployed in  needlework,  and  are  miserably  paid.  '  Pris- 
cilla'  has  been  well  received  among  them,  and  the  poor 
creatures  express  themselves  pleased  that  any  one 
cares  for  them.  I  should  think  this  district  needs 
even  more  aid  to  help  itself  than  Bethnal  Green  or 
Whitechapel,  concerning  which  more  sympathy  has 
been  already  excited.  Any  provision  of  ready-made 
useful  clothing  to  sell  cheaply  to  them  would  be  much 
welcomed.  Many  go  to  a  place  of  worship  in  the  dark 
winter  evenings,  who  say  '  they  must  hide  themselves 
now  that  the  evenings  are  lighter.'  Talk  about  hero- 
ism !  If  you  want  to  see  it  in  many  an  unrecorded 
form,  you  must  go  amongst  these  poor  ;  but  ah,  how 
many  of  their  true  tales  make  one's  heart  ache  !  " 

The  following  is  a  letter  from  the  same  superintend- 
ing lady  of  more  recent  date  : — 

''June  10th,  1859. 
"  It  is  now  three  months  since  the  commencement  of 
a  Female  Bible  Mission  in  Limehouse  Fields,  during 


SKETCHES   IN   LIMEHOUSE   FIELDS. 


167 


which  interval  our  'Priscilla'  has  paid  upwards  of  1300 
visits,  and  has  liad  200  subscribers  for  Bibles  and 
Testaments.  She  still  retains  on  her  books  the  names 
of  79  persons,  and  has  delivered  121  copies.  Every 
week  she  extends  her  district,  and  there  is  yet  much 
ground  for  her  to  explore.  Having  received  for  the 
above  number  of  Bibles  the  sum  of  <£7  18s.  3d.,  this 
amount  has  been  paid  in  by  me  to  the  Stepney  Auxil- 
iarr  Bible  Society.  '  Priscilla's'  salary  from  the 
treasurer  of  the  grant  from  the  Jubilee  Fund  for  Fe- 
male Colportage  has  been  £5  7s.  3d.  in  the  above 
space  of  time. 

"She  has  found  many  persons  in  possession  of  a 
small  Bible,  who  have  told  her  that  they  would  gladly 
pay  for  a  larger  one,  but  their  husbands  have  been 
so  much  out  of  work  that  they  have  not  the  pence  to 
spare. 

''  Others,  owing  to  their  intemperate  habits  (0  that  I 
had  it  not  to  write !)  and  want  of  Bible  principles, 
have  brought  themselves  down  to  such  a  state  of  pov- 
erty, that  their  souls  are  kept  without  knowledge,  and 
their  bodies  without  decent  clothing.  This  class,  how- 
ever, must  not  be  left  unheeded,  and  all  who  desire 
the  spread  of  the  Bible,  especially  in  places  where 
ladies  could  not  persevere  in  visiting,  must  and  ought 
to  lift  up  their  hearts  in  gratitude  to  God  for  having 
put  it  into  the  minds  of  His  people  to  devise  this  fresh 


4 


i 

•1 

I 


I 


% 


168 


THE  MISSINO    LINK. 


effort  for  carrying  to  the  poorest  tho  .  >     ^ 
wa-edy  for  their  miseries  and!  '       """' 

^itb  God's   blessing  r  ^  ■""""'  '"  '"'^'^ 

uiessing,  to  answer   the  onrl     ♦> 

-o«an  going  with  the  Bible  to  the  poor  """'■ 

-I  trust  that  Chrisfinno  ^  mi  i 

^•'eir  prayers  and  thr;::n:;\rZir.°  ^'''•^'■'■ 

agents  in  the  dark  places  of  the  east  of  L    f"'  '"" 

-y  be  trniy  said  to  be  "  f„„  „  ity     td      '"" 

tainly  stirring  up  the  minds  of  n,a„v  f^    r       "  "'" 

asked  the  question  '  P.  i ,  ^'  '"'  ^  """  ""en 

an  in  SUal^TluTZT  ''''  '  "'"^^- 
-<^oanbutans.er,^;re\::;:;f;'«"^o^', 
as  well  as  all  hearts  are  in  Tl    T       ^'   ^''"• 
yo"  m-t  pray  that  C    nd  1  "'  *'^  ^"•^• 

and  help  will  surely  come '  '"'^'  '^  '"<"•»<'- 

"  But  to  return  to  my  own  distnVt     Ti. 
-dation  of  the  people  is  ve';  g  ^  J.'^  '"°™'  '^^■ 
seem  to  know  it  is  wrong  (to  use  tt  """"'  ^^  """ 

--d  their  children's  r!,,  Z^llZr''^  '^ 
and  were  surprised  whenl  b"  womt  ""'"'' 
e<i  With  them  for  it,  saying  that  ir^TZT 
taken  up  in  earning  their  bread  ■  .  ^    T       ^       '^ 

to  do  if  thev  did  Z        ,  '    ""^  "^^^  "'e™  they 

"  '"^^  '"o  "ot  work  on  the  Snndav  '    Tf  • 

-any  days  since  a  man  stabbed  his  ^S  in  the  f"     " 

whr:r;e:rr-----re2e:r 
-..ny:;;;:-:r:-r::x: 


^-^ETCHES  IK  U«m0VS^  P,E,BS. 


interest  them  when  fi,„-   ,  """"  '^' 

»^eda,s.he„t;r;;:r:r^;-'^-o-.„r.-„ 

"nils  s  r^"  ^--'-- " "  "'"'' 

record  alUhettair^L-ch  I  Z  V"^'"'  "'''  ' '" 
*W  wouW  even  then  ae  ZtTS^'T' ''  ^^' 
manners  of  the  npn».7  ^^^"*  ^<^ea  of  the 

^"'ODg  them  are  sighing  to  .7   °     ^"^''*'  """  """r 
things,  and  I  have   "ftj"        '''  '°  "  ''^"^^  «*«'«  of 

•^e  transported  t;:n::;::tej"-"''''^«^-'"' 

great  would  be  the  de^V.  "^  "■"  ^"''■■^'  how 

teachers  among  he„  !  '  I'""'  *°  ""'  «""«  -<J 
o-  jot  Of  intfr:st  Tn^el  t;t  t^''  ""  «^^'« 
-t  our  own  doors  should  lot  h  T'"'  ™'"*'^  *''°^« 
lected.  .  „        "^  "°t  have  been  so  long  „eg. 

a  Jace  ofTe^Slj"  ?"  '"■'""™  *''^* '"  ^°  ^^ort 

Testaments.      While    !!!     r\""'^  '''   ^''"^^  and 

-rk,  she  is  received  as  a  2?'"^    '""    -P-tant 
graded  ones.    Thev  ten\      .^  """"^  *''^'^  P°°>'' ^e- 

they  ask  her  advi  rji'"  *''^''-  '^'^  "^  -rrow  ; 

had  sunk  so  lowlt  r""*^^"-^^-     ^ne  woman 

vermin  and  filtT-  ye    be    ""  ""'"^  ^"^-^-^  --th 

oallsoftheBibWomL  InT  t1  ''^' '"^  ^^-'^'^ 
taking  an  interest  in";  sh!     ^     '  '"'  "'''"^  °- 

----.en::t:s-:-. 


J 


170 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


has  had  her  windows  mended  ;  scrubbed  her  room  ; 
and  told  '  Priscilla '  that  she  '  meant  to  get  a  piece  of 
muslin  to  make  a  short  blind  for  her  window,  to  be  a 
little  decent.'  She  is  now  doing  some  needle-work  for 
the  Clothing  Mission,  and  she  puts  by  the  money 
earned  for  clothing  for  herself  and  children,  except 
when  she  is  without  bread,  when  she  will  ask  for  a  few 
pence  of  it  to  buy  a  loaf.  She  is  not  a  drinking  wom- 
an, but  broken-spirited  through  poverty.  The  neigh- 
bors have  marked  the  change,  and  have  said  to  '  Pris- 
cilla,' *  Well,  we  never  sn      Mrs.  T so  clean  till 

you  came  to  her  ;  you  have  certainly  done  her  good.' 
She  said  herself,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  *  I  could 
not  see  any  way  of  getting  on  till  you  came  to  me. 
Your  constant  calling  made  me  ashamed,  and  now  I 
am  determined  to  try  and  keep  myself  and  the  chil- 
dren clean.'  She  lives  in  a  wretched  place  ;  there  are 
four  other  families  in  the  dwelling ;  the  filth  of  a 
slaughter-house  runs  before  her  door,  and  the  stench  is 
so  abominable  that  no  visitor  can  remain  many  min- 
utes in  )ier  room  without  a  feeling  of  sickness  ;  and 
it  is  swarming  with  rats  besides.  Yet  I  am  told  that, 
had  I  seen  it  three  months  back,  and  could  compare  its 
past  and  present  state,  I  should  be  astonished  at  the 
improvement. 

"'Well,'  said  a  subscriber,  when  she  had  obtained 
her  Bible, '  this  is  the  first  book  I  have  ever  had  that 


LIMEH0U8E   FIELDS,   STEPNEY. 


171 


f 


I  could  call  my  own.  I  shall  read  it,  and,  as  you  say 
it  is  a  good  book,  I  hope  it  will  do  me  good.'  '  Fris- 
cilia'  happened  to  call  on  one  of  her  subscribers,  wiio 
was  paying  for  a  2s.  6d.  Bible,  while  the  husband  was 
at  dinner.  On  seeing  the  3s.  copy,  the  wife  said  sho 
must  wait  another  week,  and  have  one  of  those.  The 
man  immediately  came  forward,  and  gave  the  extra 
6d.,  adding  that  *  he  had  long  felt  ho  should  like  to 
have  a  Bible,  and  now  he  meant  to  read  it.' 

"  '  Do  you  know,'  said  another, '  I  never  tliought  I 
could  save  money  till  you  came  to  visit  me.  Now  I 
have  paid  for  my  Bible,  I  will  pay  for  some  clothes,' 
which  she  continues  to  do.  I  think  it  a  most  cheering 
feature  of  the  work,  that  most  of  tlio.  e  who  have  had 
Bibles  are  now  paying  for  clothes,  and  ponie  talk  of 
leaving  their  dirty  rooms.  Many  have  said  to  '  Pris- 
cilla,'  *  It  is  so  kind  of  ladies  to  send  you  among  us. 
Here  we  were  quarrelling,  and  drinking,  and  abusing 
each  other,  no  one  seeming  to  care  for  us  ;  but  we  like 
to  see  you,  and  are  very  pleased  that  you  have  come  to 
live  near  us.'  The  fact  is,  that,  though  a  gentle  little 
creature,  she  often  parts  them  in  the  midst  of  a  fight. 

"  She  lias  been  the  means  of  recommending  two  girls, 
wlio  were  anxious  to  go  to  service,  but  had  no  clotlies, 
to  a  society  with  which  her  superintendent  is  connect- 
ed, by  whose  means  they  will  be  supplied  witli  an  out- 
fit suitable  to  enter  a  respectable  family.     In  sovcral 


•i 


M 


172 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


cases,  when  the  people  have  been  spoken  to  on  the  sin 
of  Sabbath-breaking,  they  have  promised  that  they 
will  not  work  on  that  day,  and  many  of  them  have 
tried  to  keep  their  word.  Her  constant  quiet  presence 
among  them  works  in  so  many  ways  for  good  ;  and, 
though  it  may  seem  but  little  that  she  does,  when  we 
think  of  what  is  to  be  done,  yet,  if  we  bear  in  mind 
the  value  of  one  soul,  we  cannot  feel  that  the  work  is 
unimportant.  I  could  multiply  facti.  of  the  Bible  being 
well  received,  but  I  must  say  a  few  words  about  our 
Clothing  Mission.  In  this  department '  Priscilla '  is 
very  useful,  as  siie  can  cut  out  garments,  arrange  and 
fit  them,  and,  as  she  is  herself  a  good  needlewoman, 
she  endeavors  to  teach  the  women  the  best  way  of  do- 
ing things.  She  has  obtained  seventy-six  subscribers 
in  this  department  of  her  work,  most  of  whom  have 
paid  previously  for  Bibles,  and  has  brought  in  from 
them,  up  to  the  10th  of  June,  XIO  16s.  8|d.,  all  which 
money  would  otherwise,  probably,  have  been  spent  in 
drink.  "^ 

"  The  women  come  to  the  Mission-room  every  Mon- 
day evening,  to  bring  their  pence,  and  to  choose  the  ar- 
ticles they  would  like ;  they  appear  satisfied  and 
pleased  with  what  is  purchased  for  them,  and  particu- 
larly so  with  READY-MADE  clotliing,  onc  parcel  of  whicli 
we  received  from  the  treasurer,  one  from  a  lady  at 
Stoke  Newington,  and  a  few  second-hand  articles  from 


I 


L1MEH0U8E   FIELDS,   STEPNEY. 


]73 


a  lady  at  Shad  well  ;  also  somo  pieces  of  print  from  a 
friend  at  Stepney  Green,  which  were  made  into  pina- 
fores and  little  frocks.  One  evening  evei-y  week  they 
meet  also  for  work,  when  an  excellent  lady,  accustom- 
ed to  conduct  Mothers'  Meetings,  presides.  She  reads 
a  portion  of  Scripture,  explains  it,  and,  after  offering 
prayer,  reads  aloud  to  them  some  useful  book,  such  as 
the  *  First  and  Last  Day  of  the  Week,'  with  which  the 
women  are  much  delighted  :  some  have  told  *  Priscilla ' 
it  is  like  heaven  on  earth  to  them. 

"  We  have  had  a  tea-meeting,  at  which  twenty-two 
were  present,  some  so  very  poor  that  they  scarcely 
ever  buy  fresh  tea,  milk,  or  butter.  One  poor  woman 
came  that  had  just  lost  her  baby.  It  had  pined  away 
almost  from  starvation  ;  she  had  nursed  it  while  liv- 
ing only  on  stewed  tea-leaves  and  dry  bread,  and  while 
making  two  shirts  a  day,  for  which  she  received  4d. 
She  has  a  husband  at  sea,  a  very  bad  man,  and  she  has 
not  an  article  of  furniture,  one  of  her  poor  neighbors 
allowing  her  to  share  her  bed.  'Priscilla'  believes 
her  to  be  a  hopeful  character,  and  thinks  that,  with 
instruction,  her  trials  may  be  made  useful  to  her. 

"  Many  of  our  poor  guests  said  that  it  was  years  since 
they  had  spent  such  a  happy  evening.  I  do  not  expect 
to  get  the  most  depraved  to  our  meetings  at  first. 
They  must  be  sought  out  and  sought  after  :  those  who 
know  anything  of  the  human  heart  can  understand  the 


i 


174 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


force  of  our  Saviour's  complaint  when  He  was  on 
earth,  *  Y**  will  not  come  unto  me  that  ye  might  have 
life,  be;3ause  your  deeds  are  evil.'  When  light  arises 
in  a  dark  place,  '  every  one  that  doeth  evil  hateth  the 
light ;  neither  cometh  to  the  light,  lest  his  deeds 
should  be  reproved.'  But  W3  have  first  the  poor 
weary  wife  and  mother,  who  needs  cheering,  teaching, 
and  encouraging  to  do  right — who  is  willing  to  be  ad- 
vi°^d  to  better  plans  of  management ;  and  this  class 
will  imperceptibly  influence  others  around  them. 
Several  of  the  women  asked  if  we  could  let  them  have 
something  to  take  home  to  read  to  their  husbands. 
On  hearing  this,  I  wrote  to  Mr.  H.  F.  Barclay,  who 
kindly  responded  to  my  appeal  by  sending  five  hun- 
dred copies  of  '  The  Band  of  Hope'  and  'The  British 
Workman,'  which  are  freely  distributed  among  them. 

"  The  people  noed  civilizing  almost  as  much  as  sav- 
ages abroa^l.  At  some  of  the  houses  at  which  '  Pris- 
cilla'  calir  ^«,  is  no  uncommon  thing,  at  the  end  of  the 
week,  to  see  the  very  young  children  running  about 
the  room  quU/ft  naked,  and  the  elder  ones  with  merely 
a  rag  pinned  round  them,  the  mothers  saying,  when 
spoken  to  about  it,  that  they  must  take  their  clothes 
off  once  a  week  to  wash  them,  or  else  '  to  keep  them 
out  of  the  streets  ;'  but  the  truth  is,  they  have  no 
second  suits.  Several  of  these  are  now  paying  for 
more  clothes,  and  many  of  the  women  that  are  wearing 


SUSAN  IN  WHITECHAPEL. 


175 


the  clothes  that  they  have  subscribed  for,  are  accosted 
by  their  neighbors  with, '  Why,  you  look  so  nice,  I 
hardly  knew  you.  I  shall  try  and  get  some  clothing 
too.'  The  good  Bible-woman  is  herself  cheered  by  a 
visible  alteration  in  the  inmates  of  many  rooms  ;  and 
the  increased  comforts  of  the  people,  earned  by  their 
own  efforts,  are  strongly  associated  in  their  minds 
with  the  BLESSED  Book  which  contains  the  history  of 
the  Saviour  of  sinners,  at  whose  feet  many  of  them 
vdll  now,  we  hope,  be  brought  to  sit,  '  clothed  and  in 
their  right  mind.' " 

SUSAN   IN  WHITECHAPEL. 

"  Susan,"  in  Whitechapel,  has  already  fifty  Bible 
subscribers.  She  had  the  advantage  of  going  round 
first  with  the  Bible  Society's  colporter,  and  they 
visited  the  Jewish,  the  German,  and  the  Rag  Fair 
districts,  in  company.  Owing  to  the  Christianizing 
efforts  which  have  been  long  at  ^ork  in  the  district, 
they  found  the  Gentile  population,  on  the  whole,  well 
furnished  with  small  Bibles.  Yet  the  very  names  of 
the  streets,  notwithstanding  all  effort  hitherto,  have 
still  a  dreadful  renown  as  the  abodes  of  want,  and  sin, 
and  misery.  It  now,  therefore,  remained  to  present 
and  recommend  the  cheap  large  prints,  which  arc  at 
this  time  calling  the  attention  of  the  ignorant  so  much 
more  vigorously  to  the  holy  volume  of  inspired  trutli. 


I 


ii 


176 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


Many  who  could  not  read  expressed  great  thankfulness 
that  a  Bible-woman  would  come  and  read  to  them, 
that  they  might  learn  the  way  of  salvation. 

"  Sometimes,"  says  the  Colporter,  "  a  dozen  boys 
and  gi.Is  swarmed  around  us  in  the  courts,  and  one  or 
two  would  even  herald  our  approach.  An  elder  lad 
gave  us  his  name,  Jim  James,  and  invited  "  Susan  "  to 
come  and  see  where  he  lived,  that  he  might  subscribe  ; 
it  proved  *  all  right,'  and  he  gave  her  a  penny.  When 
we  knock  at  the  door  of  a  Romanist,  we  often  en- 
counter the  lowerir.g  look  and  a  downcast  and  sullen 
demeanor.  Tliey  belong  to  the  church  which  does  not 
allow  the  Bible.  How  different  the  expression  of  the 
faces  where  the  light  of  the  Gospel  has  fallen  ;  how 
cheerful  the  reply,  whether  they  are  supplied  or  are 
desiring  a  larger  type  !  One  cordial  smile  of  welcome 
compensates  for  a  large  measure  of  refusal  and  re- 
buke. 

"  From  the  Jews  we  met  with  civility,  though  they 
generally  told  us  they  had  their  own  creed,  and  their 
own  Old  Testament.  We  sometimes  heard  of  a 
Christian  residing  in  their  midst :  one,  a  tailor  by 
trade,  when  we  reached  him  on  a  narrow  flight  of 
stairs,  said,  '  The  Bible  was  the  very  thing  u<^  ad 
want.'  We  met  with  another  who  had  been  a  Bible 
subscriber  twenty-four  years  ago,  when  residing  in 
the  self  same  court.     If  they  were  not  all  Jews  in 


SUSAN   IN    W'HITECHAPEL. 


177 


the  other  courts,  she  told  ns,  they  were  Roman  Catho- 
lics, some  of  whom,  it  appears,  act  as  '  ShubotU-guys,' 
or  servants,  on  Saturdays,  to  these  descendants  of  the 
noble  Abraham."  The  exiled  remnant  of  the  original 
depositaries  of  the  law  of  God,  they  still  so  minutely 
observe  it  "  to  the  title,"  that  they  refuse  to  snuff  a 
candle  or  poke  the  fire,  but  impatiently  call,  "  Shuboth- 
guy — Shuboth-guy,"  as  the  stoker  passes  from  room  to 
room  for  the  purpose.  Wonderful  witnesses  to  the 
utterances  of  Sinai,  which  they  have  "  made  void  by 
their  traditions." 

It  is  well  known  by  many  persons  in  this  neighbor- 
hood that  George  Yard,  Whitechapel,  and  its  immedi- 
ate vicinity,  was  once  considered  one  of  the  vilest 
places  in  the  whole  of  Middlesex.  Some  remember 
the  time  when  people  were  allured  down  there  to  some 
den  of  infamy,  where  they  were  drugged,  and  the  con- 
tents of  their  pockets  taken  ;  and  in  bygone  days 
many  so  trepanned  were  never  seen  to  emerge  from 
those  depths  again.  Day,  evening,  and  Sunday  schools 
are  now  established,  and  open-air  services  are  held  in 
New  Court,  an  outlet  of  George  Yard,  on  Sabbath 
evenings.  The  congregation  is  often  thus  gathered 
together : 

The  school  children  are  appointed  to  meet  at  a  cer- 
tain place,  and,  when  assembled,  they  v^'alk  through  the 
back  streets  of  the  neighborhood,  singing  a  hymn  to  a 
8* 


I 


PJ 


2  *S'_^_^l!&-»«. 


178 


THE  MISSING  LINK. 


cheerful  tune.  Crowds,  composed  chiefly  of  the  lowest 
characters,  soon  gather  round,  and  march  back  with 
the  cliildren. 

It  is  a  motley  congregation.  The  vilest  have  the 
gospel  preached  to  them  there.  In  the  crowd  we 
miglit  recognize  ticket-of-leave  men  ;  on  the  low  wall 
are  seated  groups  of  poor  pickpockets  with  upturned 
faces,  hearing,  perhaps  for  the  first  time,  that  Jesus 
Christ  came  to  save  and  die  for  them.  Blind  beg- 
gars, led  by  the  hands  of  their  friends,  come  and  seat 
themselves,  to  listen  to  the  message  of  mercy,  and  at 
all  the  dingy  windows  round  may  be  seen  anxious 
persons,  wlio  probably  wonld  never  have  heard  of  the 
way  to  heaven  but  for  such  an  opportunity,  and  who 
seem  surprised  that  any  are  come  down  to  sympathize 
witli  them  in  tlieir  dcgradatiori.  These  are  often  also 
aged  and  afllictcd  people,  who  can  seldom  leave  their 
dark  and  miserable  liomes. 

To  such  it  may  be  concei>^cd  how  welcome  will  be  the 
visit  of  the  kindly  Bible-woman,  bringing  to  the  door 
of  every  room  the  Book  of  which  the  minister  luis 
spoken,  and  from  which  he  uttered  that  story  of  com- 
fort and  peace.  It  is  towards  these  *'  dark  plains  of 
the  eartli,"  in  the  heart  of  our  Christinu  city,  whicli 
have  been  "  full  of  cruelty,"  that  the  purifying  waters 
of  the  stream  of  life  must  be  turned  in  fresh  and 
abundant  lUls,  and  that  Nor  by  gifts,  which  would  be 


SUSAN   IN    WHITECHAPET.. 


179 


made  away  with,  but  by  continual  presentation  of  the 
Divine  Message  for  easy  purchase. 

Whitechapel,  witli  its  2li>  streets  and  5000  inhabited 
houses,  is  a  world  we  must  further  explore.  The 
Rev.  W.  W.  Champneys  and  the  Rev.  Hugh  Allen 
have  been  faithful  laborers  there  for  many  years,  and 
their  unceasing  efforts,  combined  with  those  of  others, 
to  preach  the  Gospel  to  these  poor,  cannot  but  have 
effected  much.  Mr.  Champneys  says,  "  There  were 
but  sixteen  communicants  the  first  day  I  entered  the 
parish  church,  in  1838,  and  then  there  existed  but  one 
church  for  30,000  persons  ;  now  there  are  four,  and  the 
congregations  in  all  are  overflowing."  He  adds,  "  If 
Wiutechapcl  is  what  it  still  is,  what  must  it  have  been 
twenty  years  ago?"  A  communicant  of  Mr.  Allen's 
churoli  has  been  found  to  undertake  the  Female  Bible 
Agency,  which  will  penetrate  into  every  room,  and 
thus  fruit  already  borne  shall  peradventure  lead  to  the 
bringing  forth  of  more  fruit ;  for  "  to  him  that  hath 
shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  abundantly,"  is  a 
record  in  the  harvest  field  of  souls. 

Cheap  clothino;  is  here  very  much  needed.  People 
are  crowded  together,  many  of  then^  having  been 
reduced  from  former  respectability,  rather  than  born 
to  tiie  bitterness  of  poverty.  The  men  saunter  d'>wn 
to  the  docks,  and  often  get  no  work  ;  the  women  sell 
in  the  streets.      They  welcome  the  opportunity  of  ob- 


I 


I 

i 


f 


-tTTjt  ■^jvrs»JVf3eim''»'»^ffnmmiis,i^i 


,t*iiteJ> 


180 


THE   MISSING   TINK. 


I 


taining  large  Bibles  at  a  cheap  rate,  and  will  probably 
do  so  more  and  more. 

.THE   BIBLE-WOMAN   IN  SH  A  DWELL, 

Through  the  efforts  of  the  Lady  who  so  success- 
fully superintends  Priscilla,  a  new  mission  has  now 
taken  rise  at  Shadwell.  She  had  her  attention  called 
to  a  person  of  suitable  age  and  appearance — a  tried 
Christian  woman  of  great  moral  courage  and  intel- 
ligence, and  much  kindliness  of  heart,  who  solicited 
the  work,  and  was  not  unwilling  to  be  appointed  to 
Shadwell,  where  the  population  is  of  a  most  low  and 
debased  character.  We  cannot  enter  into  all  partic- 
ulars, but  its  main  thoroughfares  are  streets  through 
which  a  respectable  person  cannot  walk  without  deep 
concern  ;  and  thoughtful  men  have  been  heard  to  say 
concerning  it,  that  "  as  there  are  incurable  diseases  in 
the  physical  world  over  which  the  skilful  physician 
cares  not  to  spend  his  time  or  exert  his  talents,  so  it  is 
with  places  like  this  in  the  moral  world — they  cannot 
be  mended." 

Such,  however,  is  not  the  resolve  of  our  earnest- 
minded  sister  worker.  She  desires  to  see  what  the 
Bible  will  do  even  here,  and  she  has  alreadv  some  en- 
couragement.  "  I  feel,"  she  says,"  as  if  I  had  opened 
a  pestilential  cave,  the  vapors  of  which  have  so  over- 
come me  that  I  must  shut  it  up  a  while  to  recover  my- 


'; 


I 


THE   BIBLE-WOMAN    IN   SUADWELL. 


181 


self.  We  have  penetrated  into  the  regions  where  the 
inmates,  sitting  in  dp.rkncss  and  despair,  say  *  Nobody 
cares  for  us.  Our  aes^roycrs  arc  still  caressed  and 
welcomed  in  society,  but  our  portion  is  scorn  and 
shame  for  ever.  If  we  leave  our  present  life  wo  must 
starve.  Drink — we  inust  drink,  or  we  should  drown 
ourselves.'  "  .  ,.   , 

That  among  these  wretched  ones  it  is  a  Woman's 
special  mission  to  go,  and  with  God's  Word  in  her 
hand,  we  believe  that  succeeding  months  will  prove. 

Perhaps  three-fourths  of  the  population  are  Ro- 
manists. Some  of  the  people  told  "  Barbaba  "  they 
had  their  crucifixes  ;  and  they  would  rather  have  them 
than  the  Bible.  Others  said  "  They  never  prayed  to 
God,  but  if  she  did,  they  wished  Ijer  luck  ;  they  should 
be  glad  to  see  her,  and  would  treat  her  civilly  if  she 
did  not  interfere  with  their  religion  ;  for,  as  theirs  was 
the  oldest  and  the  best,  she  would  never  change  it. 
They  meant  to  stick  to  it."  SoTie  inquired  if  she  was 
a  Puseyite,  as  they  had  plenty  of  that  sort  about  there, 
and  they  hated  those  who  were  neither  one  thing  nor 

the  other. 

Many  poor  Protestants  said  they  were  glad  some 
one  was  coming  among  them.  They  had  a  Missionary 
once,  but  it  was  a  long  time  now  since  any  one  had 
cared  for  them. 

In  a  house  up  one  of  the  alleys,  which  she  entered 


II 


I 


I. 
I 

5 


i 


-! 


mm 


182 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


to  write  a  name,  the  man  noticed  her  hand  trembling. 
He  said,  "  Missus,  you  need  not  be  frightened.  We 
shall  all  be  civil  to  you  if  you  say  nothing  against  our 
religion."  One  woman  added,  "  I  will  come  to  your 
clothing  meeting ;  but  I  won't  stop  to  your  reading 
nor  your  prayers."  "Barbara"  has  already  sold 
several  Testaments  and  some  Bibles. 

We  have  need  to  go  forth  with  her,  supporting  her 
with  the  prayer  of  faith,  as  she  penetrates  up  those 
dark  alleys.  Sailors  of  every  clime  and  color  elbow 
her  at  each  step  as  they  crowd  towards  the  gin- 
palaces.  Many,  doubtless,  have  been  on  board  ships 
that  took  out  Missionaries  to  the  Heathen.  What 
must  they  think  of  this  port  of  entrance  to  the  land 
of  Bibles  ? 

The  American  is  there,  with  his  slouched  hat,  his 
sheathed  bowie-knife,  and  his  tobacco-pouch  ;  and  the 
dark,  tall,  bearded  Lascar,  in  his  blue  check  shirt ; 
the  African,  with  his  woolly  hair  ;  the  Chinese,  with 
his  long-tailed  head-gear  ;  each  chattering  in  his  own 
tongue  to  his  companions,  or  lounging  against  a  wall 
smoking,  or  joking  with  the  girls,  dressed  in  shabby 
finery.  Abominable  smellp  abound,  and  heaps  of  cin- 
ders and  garbage  fill  up  the  way.  The  women  often 
fight  like  raging  furies ;  the  children  of  six  years  old 
look  like  fifty,  with  their  hunger-bi  tten  faces  ;  they  are 
not  at  play — they  sit  gazing  out  of  the  dark  courts  ; 


THE  BIBLE-WOMAN   IN   SHADWELL. 


183 


and  boys  of  twelve,  smoking  short  pipes,  lie  outside 
the  doors. 

The  Bible -woman  seems  especially  fitted  to  deal 
with  the  unfortunate  class.  They  arc  very  civil  to  lier, 
gather  round  her  to  hear  her  read  a  chapter,  and  ask 
her  to  come  again. 

In  one  alley  there  was  a  filthy  family,  and  the  next 
time  she  called  she  found  both  mother  and  children 
washed,  as  they  were  expecting  her.  Ono  woman  said, 
"  I  tell  you  what  it  is.  Poverty  is  a  curse — a  curse ! 
It  works  all  the  good  qualities  out  of  you,  and  you 
ponder,  ponder  :  it  takes  all  your  thoughts  to  know 
how  you  are  to  get  bread." 

In  entering  upon  a  new  district  we  would  never  be 
understood  to  suppose  i\mt  nothing  has  been  accom- 
plished previously  to  our  own  (jIlui'M.  Ill  Ood'H  l)ook 
of  record  is  inscribed  every  genuine  and  8oH\sacrilicing 
effort  to  save  souls.  Ho  knows  tliu  hjritory  of  all 
kinds  of  evangelism  and  their  t'Ul!illl||i|,  ||)|||  \\ti  murks 
successively  each  true  )ii|iii/»i|'  as  he  Hi,ikH  Ills  seed  ;  Imt 
that  the  seed  of  the  Word  is  sMll  to  |/W  ^H^il  ///  oU 
these  wide  deserts  of  sin  and  hIhUIM',  fln<l  dl  \it*mn\hd 
especially  by  woman  to  women,  js  a  twi  yyl/ich  none 
can  deny. 

Ohj  what  a  voice  is  uMered  from  hi|(;)i  depths  in  tes- 
timony against  under-paid  needlewoik  1 — a  voice  most 
surely  heard  by  the  Judge  of  all   the  earth.     "  Tlio 


' 


i 


I 

! 


I 


184 


THE   MI88INO    LINK. 


hire  of  the  laborers  kept  back  by  fraud  cricth,  and 
the  cries  are  entered  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of 
Sabaoth."  There  are  white  shives  in  England  that 
yet  need  their  Wilberforces,  and  there  is  an  army  of 
watcliers  to  do  evil,  waiting  for  the  unwary,  sleepless 
at  their  posts,  whom  we  have  scarcely  yet  begun 
to  meet  by  our  Mothers  of  Charity  watching  for  good. 
It  must  be  sad  and  secret  service  ;  but  there  are  some 
at  whose  hand  the  Lord  requires  it,  and  to  whom  He 
would  render  in  its  performance  a  rich  reward. 


/  • 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


THE   BIBLE-WOMAN    AT   LONDON    WALL. 


Returning  again  by  the  spacious  old  road  of  While- 
chapel,  which  was  in  former  times,  as  the  one  ''hig:]i- 
way  into  Essex,  skirted  by  numerous  inns,  with  their 
ancient  galleried  yards, "  we  make  a  bend  round 
Houndsditch,  and  come  within  the  antique  limits  of 
the  old  City  Wall.  There  are  associations  with  tlio 
words  "  London  Wall "  tliat  carry  us  back  to  tlie  days 
of  Theodosius,  the  Roman  Governor  of  Britain  ;  nay, 
to  old  Londinium,  with  its  earliest  fosse  and  rampart 
cast  up  h  nrotect  its  "considerable  depot  of  merchan- 
dize before  the  days  of  Cajsar. "  A  town  is  known  to 
have  existed  on  this  spot  for  well-nigh  two  thousand 
years.  Wlien  it  became  the  Roman  Colorda  of  Augusta, 
the  Praetorium  and  its  adjuii(3ts,  with  their  tesselated 
pavements,  are  supposed  to  have  occupied  the  present 
site  of  the  Poultry  and  Cornhill. 

Suetonius  built  its  wall  of  "  hewn  stone  commingled 
with  brick,"  beginning  at  a  fort  occupying  the  pro  sent 
sit<3  of  the  Tower  of  London,  and  carried  northw    rd 

[185] 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


as  Wl-^-.  . '.AIN  STRICT 

WnSTIR.N.Y.  MSSO 

(716)  •79-4S03 


5?   ..W 


186 


THE   MISSING  LINK. 


through  the  Minories  to  Aldgate,  crossing  Bishopsgate 
to  Cripplegate,  thence  to  Aldersgate  and  Ludgate, 
inclosing  an  area  of  somewhat  more  than  three  miles, 
and  leaving  one  side  open  to  the  river.  The  wall  is 
said  to  have  been  guarded  by  fifteen  towers,  and  to 
have  described  a  figure  like  a  bent  bo  '^,  of  which  the 
Thames  was  the  cord. 

The  names  of  the  old  gates  remain,  and  so  still  do 
a  few  scattered  fragments  of  the  antique  wall  in  the 
churchyard  of  St.  Giles's,  Cripplegate ;  and  in  its 
venerated  decay  it  still  gives  its  name  to  the  district. 
London  "  within  the  walls  "  made  a  rapid  expansion 
into  the  adjacent  fields.  It  has  been  for  eighteen  cen- 
turies the  seat  of  a  busy  and  ever-increasing  popula- 
tion, and  has  a  history  coeval  with  the  Christian  Era. 
Soon  the  number  of  buildings  "  without  the  walls " 
began  to  exceed  those  within,  and  left  them  as  a  mere 
kernel  in  the  midst  of  the  mass  ;  while  the  ever-multi- 
plying dwellings  of  the  city  have  since  overtaken  the 
villages  of  Southwark,  Westminster  and  Lambeth,  and, 
indeed,  have  now  absorbed  every  adjacent  village  on 
every  side  within  ten  miles  round. 

It  is,  therefore,  a  matter  of  some  interest  to  go  back 
to  the  "  kurnel"  of  this  "province  covered  with  houses." 
London  within  the  walls  is  divided  into  ninety-eight 
parishes  for  ecclesiastical  purposes,  and  into  twenty- 
six  wards  for  municipal  purposes.     It  was  once  very 


THE  BIBLE-WOMAN  AT  LONDON   WALL. 


187 


thickly  populated,  and  is  still  the  centre  of  business  to 
the  world,  but  the  opulent  have  long  since  removed 
their  private  residences  to  the  western  suburbs.  The 
Earls  of  Oxford  and  of  Essex,  De  Veres,  l/udleys,  and 
Cromwells,  have  left  St.  Swithin's  Lane,  and  Bishops- 
gate  and  Throgmorton  Streets,  and  the  Bishops  of 
London  have  forsaken  their  palace  in  Aldersgate. 

An  act  for  improving  and  paving  the  city  passed  in 
1532,  which  describes  the  streets  as  "  very  foul  and  full 
of  pits  and  sloughs,  very  perilous  and  noyous  for  all 
the  king's  subjects  on  horseback,  on  fbot,  or  in  car- 
riages." Narrow,  crooked  streets  were  gloomy  by 
day,  and  left  in  total  darkness  at  night.  The  vilest 
by-lanes,  alleys,  and  courts,  to  which  public  attention 
is  being  pointed  now,  are  scarcely  worse  than  was  the 
general  London  of  the  Olden  Time.  Thatched  roofs 
covered  the  plaster  and  timber  dwellings,  densely  in- 
habited and  badly  ventilated,  so  that  pestilence  was  a 
constant  visitor,  and  a  destructive  fire  a  great  blessing. 
Such  happened  in  764,  798,  801,  1077,  1135,  and  1212. 
The  great  plague  of  1665  was  followed  by  the  five 
days'  fire  of  1666,  which  destroyed  thirteen  thousand 
houses  and  ten  millions  of  property.  "  Heaven  be 
praised,"  says  Malcolm,  "  old  London  was  burnt  I " 

Still,  however,  the  "  Broad  street  ward  "  is  associ- 
ated with  the  name  of  London  Wall ;"  and  atill,  no  less 
than  ever  before,  is  this  to  be  considered  as  the  most 


Ml' 


■..^   fe.- 


188 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


><r 


W^^- 


T7ealthy  locality  in  the  world,  comprising  within  its 
boundary  the  Bank  of  England,  the  Stock  Exchange, 
and  the  Royal  Exchange.  Tlie  city  of  London  proper 
occupies  a  surface  of  more  than  six  hundred  acres,  and 
this  ward  is  tlie  twentieth  part  of  it,  comprising  thirty 
acres.  It  contains  so  many  public  halls  and  offices, 
with  the  premises  of  so  many  private  banks,  clubs,  and 
companies,  that  its  income  tax  was  lately  rated  at  more 
than  two  millions  and  a  half ;  and  yet  in  close  prox- 
imity to  these — in  their  very  midst — are  wretched 
courts  and  alleys,  in  which,  according  to  the  recent 
statistics  of  the  City  Mission,  are  to  be  found  six  hun- 
dred and  fifty  families  who  were  accessible  to  mission- 
nry  visitation. 

The  clmrch  above  mentioned,  "  St.  Giles's,  Cripple- 
gate,  or  St.  Giles's  without  the  walls,"  is  rich  in  another 
relic  besides  the  remains  of  the  Old  Wall  of  London. 
The  ashes  of  John  Milton  there  repose  in  his  father's 
grave — "  the  man  whose  name  is  his  monument — the 
poet  to  whom  England  has  done  justice,  and  whose  re- 
nown equals  his  merits."  Is  not  this  partly  from  the 
sympathy  of  all  mankind  with  his  glorious  subject — 
the  tale  the  Bible  tells  of  their  own  human  history  ? 

Another  interesting  feature  of  this  district  is,  that 
the  parish  register  of  the  church  of  St.  Bartholomew,  be. 
hind  the  Royal  Exchange,  proves  that  Miles  Coverdale 
was  buried  in  its  chancel.    He  is  well  known  as  the 


M 


THE   BIBLE-WOMAN  AT  LONDON  WALL. 


189 


translator  and  editor  of  the  first  complete  copy  of  the 
English  Bible,  which  was  ordained  by  the  capricious 
Henry  VIII  to  lie  open  in  every  church  in  England, 
though  its  parts  had  been  prohibited  in  detail.  Cover- 
dale  was  buried  in  1658.  The  great  fire  occurred  in 
1666,  in  which  that  church  was  destroyed,  and  the  Sun 
Fire  Office  now  stands  upon  its  site. 

The  poor  population  of  the  city  within  the  walls 
have,  in  early  life,  resided  in  rural  districts,  and  have 
been  accustomed  to  attend  public  worship ;  but  "coming 
to  London  has  been,"  they  say,  "  their  ruin."  They 
have  found  their  way  here  as  office-keepers,  porters, 
stablemen,  laborers,  carpenters,  shoemakers,  and  tail- 
ors ;  and  the  wives  are  occupied  in  shoe-binding, 
needlework  for  shops,  washing,  and  charing.  The 
City  Missionary  writes,  "  More  than  one-half  of  the 
working  men  are  habitually  more  or  less  given  to 
drink."  Among  1200  individuals,  in  307  families,  in 
one  of  the  wards,  one  only  was  found  to  be  a  commu- 
nicant ;  and  the  man  or  woman  who  would  maintain  a 
Christian  walk  or  conversation  in  these  courts  must  be 
a  Christian  of  the  same  order  as  would,  if  called  upon, 
die  a  martyr  for  his  faith  upon  the  scaffold.  1 

Of  the  ninety-seven  churches  standing  within  the 
walls  of  the  city  before  the  great  fire  of  London,  sixty- 
three  was  reerected,  besides  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  by 
Sir  Christopher  Wren,  and  to  these  churches  are  now 


!• 


190 


THE  HISSING  LINE. 


added  many  chapels  for  Dissenters.  There  is  a  pro- 
vision of  nearly  51,000  sittings  for  about  55,000  per- 
sons, which  is  a  most  remarkable  amount  of  ecclesi- 
astical accommodation.  A  minister  for  every  500 
people !  The  city  ought,  therefore,  to  be  a  model  of  a 
religious  community. 

It  is  certain,  however,  that,  with  few  exceptions, 
both  churches  and  chapels  are  very  badly  attended. 
Oftentimes  scarcely  a  dozen  people  are  present,  inclu- 
sive of  the  official  persons  engaged  in  the  service.  On 
the  Sunday  before  Christmas,  the  largest  congrega- 
tions may  be  expected,  in  anticipation  of  the  cus- 
tomary gifts  at  that  season  ;  but  according  to  an  esti- 
mate made,  even  on  such  days  the  united  attendance  is 
hardly  13,000,  and  of  these  not  1300  are  poor  persons 
in  the  free  seats.  The  abuse  of  Christmas  gifts 
throughout  London  is  patent  to  all  those  who  have 
opportunity  for  observation. 

In  the  spring  of  last  year  this  subject  came  under 
the  notice  of  a  gentleman  well  known  in  the  city — Mr. 
W.  Coles — one  of  the  committee  for  administering  the 
benevolent  funds  of  the  Broad  street  ward.  Exploring 
by  the  aid  of  a  City  Missionary,  and  also  with  his  own 
eyes,  the  interfors  in  Sadlers'  Place,  White  Lyon  Court, 
Leathersellers'  Buildings,  Carpenters'  Buildings,  Pea- 
hen Court,  &c.,  he  found  the  character  of  the  neigh- 
borhood to  be  such  as  it  generally  is  when  the  poor 


THE  BIBLE-WOMAN   AT  LONDON  WALL. 


191 


e 

n 
[1 


are  accustomed  to  receive  abundant  help  from  the  rich 
without  much  investigation.  The  well-meant  and  fre- 
quently repeated  dole  of  charity,  so  called,  only  ren- 
ders the  receivers  improvident  hypocrites  and  ungrate- 
ful rogues.  Dirt,  d^-unkenness,  and  beggary  are  the  re- 
sult of  sovereigns  indiscriminately  showered  over  those 
who  are  happiest  if  they  receive  shillings,  and  work 
for  them. 

Still  no  man  or  woman  can  actually  go  to  visit  the 
dens  of  London,  and  not  see  that  there  is  a  great  deal 
to  be  done  for  their  inmates  ;  and,  of  course,  Mr.  Coles 
saw  this.  By  his  aid,  and  that  of  other  gentlemen,  courts 
were  cleansed,  and  dwellings,  where  pestiferous  filth 
had  oozed  through  the  floor,  were  placed  under  a 
proper  system  of  drainage  and  water  supply.  During 
the  hot  weather  of  last  summer,  when  the  missionary 
had  urged  them  to  wash  their  floors,  he  had  received 
for  answer,  "  We  have  not  even  water  to  wash  our 
skins,  or  to  boil  our  vegetables.  It  is  only  laid  on  for 
half  an  hour  a  day,  for  two  houses  and  ten  families. 
How  are  we  to  wash  our  floors  ?  " 

These  things  only  needed  to  be  made  known  to  the 
authorities,  and  in  this  case  they  wtre  soon  altered. 
Could  not  the  rich  men  of  every  neighborhood  deter- 
mine to  have  them  altered,  and,  like  those  who,  in  the 
third  chapter  of  Nehemiah,  repaired  the  wall  of  Jeru- 
salem, work  each  man  "  over  against  the  door  of  his 


J ' 


192 


..  * 


THE  MISSING  LINK. 


own  house  ?  "  The  building  of  that  wall  was  accom- 
plished in  fifty-two  days — a  noticeable  fact  in  sacred 
city  history. 

On  this  amended  sanitary  state  of  the  courts  and 
alleys  of  the  Broad  street  ward,  another  agency  was 
also  brought  to  bear.  The  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society  (of  the  parent  committee  of  which  Mr.  Coles  is 
a  member)  sent  two  or  three  colporters  to  penetrate 
into  every  room  of  the  district,  and  to  obtain  the 
names  of  subscribers  for  Bibles  and  Testaments. 
They  did  not  find  the  people  destitute  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, but  some  of  the  copies  they  possessed  were 
small,  and  most  of  them  were  old  ;  and  they  obtained 
many  promissory  names  for  lady  collectors,  besides 
selling  two  hundred  and  forty-nine  copies  by  immediate 
purchase. 

It  happened  that  there  was  resident  in  this  district 
an  excellent  lady,  superintendent  of  the  ward  school, 
who,  long  before  the  city  missionary  commenced  his 
researches,  had  taken  an  interest  in,  and  had  visited 
and  advised,  the  poor  of  the  neighborhood.  She  had 
even  been  instrumental  in  persuading  them  to  pur- 
chase, from  time  to  time,  one  hundred  Bibles.  She 
hailed  these  new  movements,  and,  under  her  inspection, 
"  Sarah,"  formerly  of  Clerkenwell,  has  now  commenced 
a  Female  Bible  and  Domestic  Mission  in  the  Broad 
street  ward.    We  will  give  a  few  life  sketches  of  the 


'  ■' 


t    t 


THE  BIBLE- WOMAN   AT   LONDON    WALL. 


193 


State  in  which  she  finds  the  people.  She  begins,  of 
course,  with  Bible  toorlc,  limited  to  a  given  district,  se- 
lected as  the  worst  of  the  locality.  Her  journal  will 
be  a  source  of  perpetual  interest  to  those  who  care  for 

Tne  poor*  ■  .^    ->  -y  .-■.,;.     ,1. «:-..;.  »>    ,- '..  JVJ      V- I       ,iysri3»';l.>'i 

Dec.  lO^A. — Visited  twenty-six  families ;  obtained 
seven  subscribers.  One  man,  a  bootmaker,  said  to  me, 
"  Yes,  I  have  a  Bible,  but,  you  see,  the  truth  is,  I  am  such 
a  drunkard  that  I  quite  hate  myself ;  and,  if  I  had  had 
the  pluck,  I  really  should  have  cut  my  throat  this 
morning."  "  You  say  you  have  a  Bible,  but  you  cer- 
tainly never  read  it,  for  there  you  will  find  that  no 
drunkards  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God."  (1  Cor. 
vi,  10.)  "But  I  always  pray  that  I  may  not  die 
drunk."  "  How  do  you  know  that  you  may  not  die  so, 
if  so  you  live  ?  We  may  die  at  any  moment.  You 
might  enter  this,  your  own  room,  and  never  leave  it 
alive.  I  shall  give  you  another  word  from  my  book, 
and  it  is  the  word  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself :  *  Except 
ye  repent  ye  shall  perish;'  and  another, '  Believe  on 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved,  and 
thy  house  ; '  saved  from  your  sin  and  from  your  misery. 
These  are  the  words  of  God's  book."  "  Well," 
said  the  man,  "  put  down  my  name  for  a  2s.  6d.  Bible, 
and  then  I  shall  see  you  again  ;  it  will  do  me  good  to 
be  talked  to."  i  , 

9 


194 


THE  MISSING  LINK. 


Sold  a  three  shilling  Reference  Bible  to  a  French 
gentleman. 

Carried  a  6s.  bed  to  a  poor  woman,  who  had  been 
subscribing  sixpences  for  it  ever  since  she  heard  I  was 
coming  to  the  district.  Surely  my  various  kind  of 
work  is  needed  in  this  dark  corner  of  London.  No 
one  seems  to  me  to  think  that  they  have  a  soul  to  be 
saved. 

Dec.  22c?. — Visited  eleven  families,  and  obtained 
three  new  subscribers.  Met  with  one  man,  who  an- 
swered, "  Why,  we've  five  Bibles  in  the  house,  and  not 
one  of  them  can  I  see  to  read."  "  Look  at  this,"  re- 
plied I,  presenting  him  with  the  clear,  large  type, 
issued  at  2s.  6d.  to  the  poor.  "  Any  one  who  can  see 
at  all  may  see  this,"  he  cried  out ;  I  can  read  it  beauti- 
fully.    This  shall  be  my  Christmas  choice." 

Dec.  2Uh. — Made  fourteen  calls,  but  found  only  one 
subscriber,  and  this  was  a  poor  woman  who  gets  her 
own  living,  and  helps  to  support  an  aged  husband, 
by  making  parasols,  for  which  she  receives  a  penny 
farthing  each.  She  gave  me  a  penny  for  a  2s.  6d. 
Bible. 

Dec,  Z\8t. — This  has  been  a  terrible  week  in  this 
district.  Large  gifts  have  been  distributed,  and  often 
in  money.  Some  old  inhabitants  have  received  as 
much  as  three  sovereigns  ;  and  the  scenes  of  drunken- 
ness have  been  past  description.     The  people  have 


• 


} 


THE   BIBLE-WOMAN   AT   LONDON-WALL. 


195 


9 


sent  their  boys  and  girls  for  gin,  which  they  drink  on 
their  way  back  ;  and  the  depraved  habits  of  the  young 
hereabouts  surpass  any  I  ever  before  met  with.  1  wa? 
jostled  by  boys,  of  ages  varying  from  eleven  to  four- 
teen, with  clay  pipes  in  their  mouths,  a  bottle  sticking 
out  of  each  pocket,  and  spilling  beer  from  pots  in  each 
hand  besides  :  other  children  were  so  far  gone  that 
they  could  not  stand. 

There  are  people  in  the  heart  of  this  city  who,  gen- 
eration after  generation,  never  think  of  bringing  their 
children  to  be  baptized,  or  train  them  with  any  knowl- 
edjro  that  there  is  a  God  in  heaven,  or  that  the  Sabbath 
is  anything  more  than  a  day  for  drinking  and  riotous 
living.  I  went  into  one  place  where  an  old  woman 
was  dying,  covered  with  vermin,  wliile  her  two  daugh- 
ters were  hanging  over  the  bed  drunk.  I  went  into 
another,  which,  upon  inquiry,  I  found  had  not  been 
cleaned  for  sixteen  years.  The  day  before  Christmas- 
day  I  met  two  men  distributing  almanacs,  with  the 
prices  of  liquor  attached  to  them.  As  they  saw  me 
with  my  Bibles  they  said,  "  Well,  mistress,  you  tuill 
keep  pace  with  us."  This  place  used  to  be  called 
"  Otaheite,"  and  truly  many  a  savage  yet  dwells  in  it. 
but  not  one  beyond  the  power  of  the  grace  of  God. 
May  it  please  Him  to  give  tlie  spirit  of  wisdom  and 
forbearance,  witli  meekness  and  loving-kindness,  to  all 
those  who  are  engaged  in  visiting  amongst  tliese  homo 


196 


THE   MI8H1NU   LINK. 


heathens,  so  that  some  of  them  may  speedily  be  led  to 
the  Cross  of  Christ!      -  .  ^  .,,        .   ^., 

The  poor  bootmaker  whom  I  first  visited  has  been 
very  ill,  and  is  supposed  to  be  dying.  He  has  met 
with  much  kindness  in  his  distress  from  Christian 
friends,  and  appears  to  have  been  brought  to  a  review 
of  his  past  life,  and  to  a  deep  repentance  for  it.  He 
told  me  this  morning  that  he  was  resting  on  the  fin- 
ished work  of  Jesus  for  pardon.  His  shivering  wife 
and  child  are  now  supplied  with  garments  to  make  for 
their  own  wear ;  and  being  then  paid  for  the  work, 
they  will  with  this  payment  buy  the  articles  they  have 
made,  and  be  able  to  go  out  to  get  employment.  They 
are  thus  placed  in  a  condition  to  help  themselves. 

March. — Called  to-day  on  sixteen  families.  I  only 
collected  eight  pence  for  Bibles.  One  rough  man,  a 
sweep,  has  from  time  to  time  told  me  that  he  wished 
I  would  keep  out  of  his  house,  for,  said  he,  "  I'm  no 
chapel-goer,  and  I  don't  want  to  be  pestered  about 
your  book.  You  see,  if  I've  my  pot  and  my  pipe  it's 
all  I  care  for,  and  I've  no  time  to  look  at  the  Bible." 

I  asked  him  if  he  had  ever  thought  he  miist  find  time 
to  die,  and  told  him  he  knew  not  how  soon  that  time 
might  come — that  perhaps  already  the  grave  was  open, 
and  the  worms  were  waiting  for  his  poor  body,  while 
he  had  a  soul  that  could  be  miserable  forever.  "  You 
had  better,"  I  said,  "  give  me  a  penny  a  week  to  buy 


THE   BIBLE-WOMAN    AT   LONDON-WALL. 


197 


V 


this  book,  which  will  lead  you  into  all  truth."  "  If 
you  dou't  get  out  I'll  kick  you  out,"  was  his  answer. 
I  departed,  telling  him  I  should  pray  that  he  might 
think  differently. 

I  went  again  another  week  to  the  door  of  this  poor 
sweep,  and  he  then  called  down  stairs  to  me,  "  Come 
up,  missus  ;  I  want  you.  I'm  a  rum  chap  ;  but,  after 
all,  I  dare  say  what  you  said  was  true.  I  don't  care 
anything  about  myself,  but  I  .^  hould  like  a  Bible  for 
my  boy.  Here  is  sixpence,  and  you  may  call  every 
week,  for  perhaps  a  little  of  your  talk  may  do  me 

good.  <;!,i   '!     ..tl  ■    .:•        -"i:'!:   .  ,'  1     ■  ^fi  'in       i      i:,,-  I 

May,  1859. — I  have  found  some  fresh  Bible  wl...  in 
Moor  Lane,  and  have  already  secured  twelve  subscrib- 
ers ;  and  when  a  Mission-room  is  opened  in  this  neigh- 
borhood subscribers  for  clothing  and  beds  will  abound. 
The  place  is  a  kind  of  maze  of  houses,  with  windings 
and  turnings  that  remind  one  of  that  at  Hampton 
Court.  It  is  called  the  *  Horseride,'  because,  accord- 
ing to  one  of  the  oldest  inhabitants,  Dick  Turpin,  the 
highwayman,  used  to  ride  through  it  to  escape  the 
officers  who  were  after  him,  and  who  were  invariably 
lost  in  its  turns.  There  is,  in  many  cases,  no  light  to 
the  staircases  but  from  a  trap-door  above,  and  in  some 
houses  this  gleam  falls  through  iron  stairs  full  of  holes. 
I  have  to  grope  my  way  up  to  one  subscriber  at  the 
top  of  such  a  house.    In  one  room  I  found  two  old 


mmtm 


198 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


people  who  wolconied  me,  their  hearts  being  softened 
by  the  recent  loss  of  a  son  of  twenty  years  of  age,  and, 
"of  course,"  said  the  mother,  "he  had  a  soul  to  be 
saved." 

"  How  do  you  dare  venture  here  ?"  said  a  woman  to 
Sarah.  "  Don't  you  know  that  the  policemen  are  afraid 
to  come  even  two  together  ? "  "  No,"  answered  our 
good  woman,  "  I  am  not  afraid.  You  will  do  me  no 
harm,  and  I  am  come  to  do  you  good.  I  am  come  to 
bring  you  God's  Book,  and  you  little  know  what  that 
can  do  for  you."  Another  Bible-woman,  who  accom- 
panied Sarah  here  one  evening,  shrank  from  this  dis- 
trict, and  said  "  the  people  seemed  like  tigers,"  so  given 
to  fighting.  A  Mission-room  has  been  opened  there, 
and  about  a  dozen  people  attend. 

Many  of  the  poor  within  these  boundaries  can  sup- 
port themselves  by  working  three  days  in  the  week  ; 
and  they  will  only  work  three  days,  and  drink  what 
they  earn  the  other  four.  Drink  occasions  their  fear- 
ful quarrels.  Numbers  of  the  women  are  employed  as 
office  cleaners  at  six  or  seven  in  the  morning,  and  from 
six  till  ten  in  the  evening.  These  spend  the  day  in 
drink,  and  may  be  seen  intoxicated  and  black  as  sweeps 
in  their  interim  of  idleness.  They  manage  to  get  sober 
by  the  evening  to  earn  more  wages,  to  be  wasted  in 
the  same  way.  It  must  be  evident  that  they  need  the 
daily  watching  of  a  female   missionary,  who  offers 


I 


THE   BIBLE-WOMAN   AT   LONDON   WALL. 


199 


■ 


I 


' 


them  SOMETHING   ELSE   TO   DO   WITH   THEIR   MONEY.     "  I 

kiiow  what  you  say  is  very  true,"  is  often  the  reply 
made.  "  I  will  turn  over  a  new  leaf.  I  will  come  to 
your  meeting  and  buy  a  bit  of  calico,  and  make  my 
man  a  shirt,  and  then  I  can  bring  him  with  me,  and 
you  can  talk  to  him."  "  Sarah"  is  particularly  well 
off  in  the  arrangements  made  by  her  kind  and  liberal 
friends  and  superintendent  of  her  Mission  for  the 
weekly  meetings  of  her  subscribers ;  and  these  meet- 
ings, attended  by  both  men  and  women,  have  contin- 
ued to  be  crowded  even  through  the  hot  weather.  A 
larger  room  is  now  being  provided,  and  much  fruit 
seems  springing  up  to  the  glory  of  God.  The  aspect 
of  many  of  the  poor  is  quite  changed,  and  there  never 
before  was  so  little  drunkenness  known  at  Whitsun- 
tide in  the  city. 

"  The  sweep  and  the  bootmaker,  referred  to  at  pp. 
193,  197,  have  been  watched  with  much  interest. 
They  now  regularly  attend  our  weekly  gathering  for 
prayer,  and  maintain  a  consistent  walk  at  other  times. 
The  sweep  has  not  been  drunk  for  two  months.  He 
used  to  be  the  pest  of  the  place  ;  now  he  cries  out,  '  I 
am  a  sinner,'  and  seems  to  be  seeking  pardon. 

"In  the  same  district  a  City  Missionary  has  for 
some  time  labored,  and  a  room  is  kindly  appropriated 
for  his  meeting,  in  a  poor  locality,  by  the  proprietor 
of  the  houses,  showing  how  mucli  such  a  light  in  a 


200 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


dark  corner  is  valued  ;  but  in  consequence  of  the  ill 
health  of  the  Missionary  it  was  proposed  to  close  tlie 
room  for  a  time,  much  to  the  regret  of  all,  especially 
of  our  friend  the  bootmaker,  who  requested  the  little 
congregation  might  still  be  allowed  to  meet  for  united 
prayer. 

"This  was  readily  complied  with,  and  deemed  a 
favorable  result  of  missionary  labor ;  and  our  friend 
has  proved,  by  his  earnestness  in  prayer  and  zealous 
endeavors  to  lead  others  to  Christ,  that  his  soul  was 
convinced  and  converted  from  the  error  of  its  way. 
He  has  for  some  time  taken  the  Bible  to  read  to  his 
neighbors,  testifying  what  God  had  done  for  him,  no 
doubt  much  to  the  astonishment  of  those  who  well 
knew  his  former  habits  of  life." 

"  I  found  a  girl,"  says  Sarah,  "  in  Peahen  Court,  to 
whom  I  was  sent  by  the  City  Missionary,  as  she 
wished  to  be  taught  to  read.  All  the  family  were  liv- 
ing and  sleeping  in  one  room.  Being  invited  to  a 
Sunday-school,  she  replied,  '  She  must  go  to  'Change 
that  day,'  which  *  'Change'  is  the  market  for  old 
clothes  described  at  page  110.  This  girl  goes  in  the 
morning  at  half-past  seven,  and  stays  till  lialf-past 
three,  and  is  then  so  tired  that  she  sleeps  for  tlie  rest 
of  the  day  ;  but  she  earns  more  money  then  than  she 
does  all  the  rest  of  the  week.  Drunken  wives  are 
glad  to  go  to  this  'Change  to  get  a  clean  shirt  or  a 


' 


THE   BIBLE- WOMAN  AT  LONDON  WALL. 


201 


pair  of  mended  stockings  for  their  husbands,  when,  as 
they  have  been  drinking  all  the  week,  their  own  are 
not  ready."  , 


It  is  delightful  to  find  that  the  Female  Mission 
work,  in  the  heart  of  the  City  of  London,  should  thus 
begin  to  take  root  and  flourish.    Sarah  already  brings 
to  her  Superintendent  a  pound  a  week  for  clothing, 
as  subscriptions  from  the  people.    A  store  of  bedticks 
await  the  completion  of  their  purchase,  bj  sixpence  or 
one  shilling  a  week,  ere  they  are  filled  with  flock,  and 
sent  forth  to  make  known  to  many, /or  tlie  first  time  in 
their  lives,  the  comfort  of  a  clean  warm  bed ;  while 
blankets,  indelibly  marked,  are  lent  to  the  most  des- 
titute, for  the  three  or  four  winter  months,  on  condition 
that  during  that  period,  by  small  subscriptions  (which 
the  opportunity  shall  be  given  them  to  earn),  they 
make  a  similar  article  their  own  before  the  time  comes 
for  the  return  of  the  loan.    Soup  is  prepared  in  the 
winter  at  one  penny  a  quart  for  those  whose  avoca- 
tions prevent  their  making  it  ;  and  it  is  indeed  to  be 
wished  that  in  every  district  in  this  vast  metropolis 
might  arise  the  possessor  or  the  collector  of  £\  00,  to 
carry  out  these  simple  reforms  in  the  social  science  of 
practical  benevolence.     By  £100  so  bestowed,  and 
ever  more  or  less  reproducing  itself,  more  will  be  done 
than  by  £1000  bestowed  in  undiscerning  gifts.     The 


202 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


Bible  Missionary  must  live  among  those  she  serves, 
and  should  not,  in  general,  be  of  a  condition  in  life 
above  doing  so.  Like  can  teach  like  with  a  hitherto 
unsuspected  power.  It  does  it  in  evil  things— it  can 
do  it  in  good  things. 

In  a  few  weeks  the  very  presence  of  a  good  woman 
amongst  them  is  a  testimony,  and  the  peoph  hear  it. 
Her  face,  her  dress,  her  manners,  are  a  leaf  out  of  a 
new  volume  to  them.  Will  not  the  Christians  of 
London  set  themselves  to  find  out  such  women  and 
employ  them  ? 


' 


, 


iv  ■"' 


' 


CHAPTER  XV. 


, 


LEAVES  PBOM  LIFE  IN  GRAY'S   INN  LANE. 

•i 

Marian  and  her  superintendent  one  day  paid  a 
visit  to  some  model  lodging-houses  in  PortpooMane, 
to  observe  the  nature  of  the  bedding  there  supplied, 
when  necessary,  to  the  lodgers.  In  penetrating  to  the 
top  rooms  of  the  building  they  found,  in  one  tidy 
room,  a  mother  and  two  daughters,  at  work  at  shoe- 
binding.  The  family  could  scarcely  support  them- 
selves by  their  utmost  industry  at  their  trade.  Tlie 
mother,  however,  voluntarily  took  care  of  the  city 
missionary's  room  in  the  lodging-house,  and  this,  with 
other  circumstances  which  came  to  light,  led  both 
visitors  at  the  same  time  to  think  that  they  had  met 
with  a  steady,  quiet,  matronly  body,  who  desired  to 
do  good  to  her  neighbors,  and  might  train  into,  a  use- 
ful missionary. 

She  soon  afterwards  commenced  work  in  her  own 
neighborhood,  under  the  guidance  of  Thomas  Shaw,  a 
colporter,  who  had  sold  many  thousand  Bibles  in  the 

(203) 


204 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


remote  hills  and  dales  of  Yorkshire,  as  well  as  in  such 
large  towns  as  Bradford  and  Leeds. 

He  was  now  employed  by  the  Bible  Society  for  a 
time  in  London,  and  was  remarkably  successful  in 
obtaining  subscribers,  not  because  he  professed  to"  pay 
his  thousand  calls  a  week,  but  because  he  did  not  leave 
the  people  in  garret,  den,  or  cellar,  till  he  had  found  a 
way  to  interest  them  severally  in  the  "  message  from 
heaven,"  which  he  presented  to  them.  He,  perhaps, 
first  gained  their  sympathy  by  talking  on  quite  other 
subjects  ;  but,  whatever  the  subject  was,  it  always 
came  round  to  "  The  Book,"  and  the  promise  of  sub- 
scription for  it,  in  small  sums,  so  often  followed,  as  to 
amaze  many  a  well-intentioned  lady  collector  at  the 
result  in  her  own  district,  which  she  thought 
"  thoroughly  supplied,"  and  where,  after  a  fresh 
course  of  visits  with  this  valuable  pioneer,  she  found 
a  multitude  of  doors  opened  which  had  been  hitherto 
closed,  and  opportunities  for  usefulness  thence  arising, 
such  as  she  had  never  supposed  would  be  met  with  in 
the  crowded  city.      ^'  ' 

One  secret  of  Shaw's  success,  worthy  of  notice  by  the 
uninitiated,  is,  that  he  did  not  give  the  people  too  much 
of  what  they  called  "  preaching,"  which  the  majority 
turn  from  with  disgust.  He  carried  the  "  Voice"  which 
was  to  be  heard  above  his  own  voice  ;  and  his  object 
was  to  make  the  people  desire  and  listen  to  Hmt, 


# 


I 

1 

1 


LIFE   IN  gray's   inn    LANE. 


205 


A  walk  with  Shaw  through  a  few  of  the  streets  in 
the  west  central  districts  of  London  will  show  his 
mode  of  gaining  the  names  of  subscribers,  whether  to 
be  taken  up  by  lady  collectors  or  by  the  Bible-woman. 
He  says: 


The  poor  people  in  London  are  more  difficult  of 
access  than  those  in  the  country.  They  make  you 
wait  a  long  while  at  the  door,  and,  in  truth,  the  house 
being  let  in  separate  rooms,  belongs  equally  to  so 
many  tenants,  that  one  of  them  will  not  answer  for 
another.  I  have  found  Bloomsbury  and  St.  Pancras 
by  no  means  destitute  of  small  Bibles,  supplied  from 
the  Sunday-schools,  many  of  them,  however,  old  and 
in  bad  condition  ;  and  the  proof  that  more  are  wanted 
is,  that  I  have  obtained  so  many  subscribers  for  large- 
print  Bibles  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks. 

I  have  met  with  a  great  deal  of  poverty,  and 
wretchedness,  and  dirt :  the  people  seem  to  waste  so 
much  money  in  drink.  I  am  very  frequently  told,  "  It 
is  of  no  use  bringing  the  Bible  here.  What  we  want 
is,  something  to  eat  and  drink."  One  man  told  me, 
"  If  the  parsons  lived  as  we  live,  they  would  not  think 
so  much  of  the  Bible ;"  and  I  answered,  "  If  you 
thought  as  much  of  the  Bible  as  they  do,  perhaps  you 
would  not  live  as  you  do,  for  the  Bible  is  the  poor 
man's  friend.    If  you  learn  to  live  as  it  would  teach 


im..jB!.i 


206 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


you,  you  would  not  really  want  *  any  good  thing.' 
Godliness  hath  the  promise  even  of  the  life  that  now 
is,  and  also  that  which  is  to  come.  See,  here  it  is  writ- 
ten in  the  Book  :  1  Tim.  iv,  8.  Have  you,  sir,"  said 
I,  '*  a  Bible  of  your  own  ?" 

"  Yes,  I  have,"  he  answered  ;  "  butit  is  in  pledge." 

"You  must  have  been  very  poor  to  pledge  your 
Bible.     Can  you  not  get  it  back  ?" 

"  No ;  it  would  cost  me  less  to  have  a  new  one  than 
to  get  that  lack." 

"  Well,  you  can  get  one  by  paying  a  penny  a  week. 
A  lady  will  collect  the  pence,  and  call  upon  you  every 
week  for  them."  After  some  more  conversation  on 
the  ptate  of  trade,  he  gave  his  name  as  a  subscriber, 
for  a  Bible  at  2s.  6d. 

The  neighbors  of  this  man  were  chiefly  Irish.  I 
could  not  do  much  with  them.  They  say  they  have 
their  own  Bible,  and  are  not  allowed  to  read  any  Prot- 
estant books. 

In  the  Colonnade  to-day  I  saw  a  man  who  said  he 
had  long  wanted  a  Bible  in  large  type.  He  had  a 
New  Testament,  but  he  should  like  to  have  the  Old 
Book  too.  He  said  the  chastening  hand  of  God  had 
taught  him  the  emptiness  of  all  worldly  pleasure.  He 
had  a  family  of  little  children,  and  was  glad  of  the 
opportunity  of  small  subscriptions,  as  he  could  no4;  pay 
the  money  for  a  Bible  at  once.     Another  woman  said. 


\ 


LIFE   IN   gray's   inn   LANE. 


207 


"  Now  I  shall  get  a  large  Bible,  which  I  never  could 
before." 

Cromer  street.— To  do  any  amount  of  work  here  I 
must  spend  three  or  four  days  in  the  street.  The  peo- 
ple would  only  answer,  "  No,"  if  I  began  by  asking 
them  whether  they  wanted  a  Bible.  The  Romanists 
often  tell  me  they  have  their  own  Bible,  but  when  I 
get  to  see  it,  it  is  only  a  Roman  Catholic  prayer  book. 

January  2%th. — I  met  to-day  with  some  curious  peo- 
ple. One  man  said,  "  Religion  is  very  cheap,  now  ;  we 
can  have  it  for  fourpence." 

"  Having  a  Testament,"  said  I,  "  does  not  make  a 
man  religious.  There  are  many  people  who  have 
whole  Bibles  and  are  not  religious  ;  but  the  time  will 
come  when  they  will  wish  they  had  been  religious.  Do 
you  ever  think,  sir,  of  that  time  ?  " 

"Sometimes  I  do  when  I  cannot  help  it." 

"  I  believe  that  is  a  true  statement.  Have  you  any 
books  besides  the  Bible  ?  " 

"  I  have  a  song  book,  but  no  Bible.  I  had  one  once, 
and  I  lost  it  through  drink." 

"  Oh,  that  drink  I  it  is  the  ruin  of  thousands.  Will 
you  be  a  subscriber  for  a  Bible  at  one  penny  per 
week  ?  " 

"  No,  mister,  I  won't.  I  have  such  a  wretched  hole  of 
a  home  that  I  should  not  like  any  one  to  come  and  see 
it  to  get  the  subscriptions." 


208 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


"  But  if  you  had  a  Bible,  and  heeded  its  directions, 
your  home  would  soon  improve.  Do  let  me  have  your 
name  as  a  subscriber." 

"  No  ;  but  I  will  buy  one  of  these  Testaments." 

"  I  am  glad  of  that.  I  hope  you  will  read  it,  and 
that  you  will  pray  for  the  teaching  of  God's  Holy 
Spirit  that  you  may  understand  it.  He  can  lead  you 
*  into  the  way  of  all  truth.' " 

Calls  to-day,  sixty  ;  subscribers,  seven. 

I  have  been  employed  this  week  in  the  poorest  dis- 
tricts belonging  to  the  Brunswick  Square  Association. 
In  some  of  the  houses  there  are  six  and  even  eight 
families,  and  sometimes  two  families  in  a  room.  I 
found  that  in  one  house  thirty-seven  persons  were  liv- 
ing. It  takes  a  long  time  to  canvass  such  places.  The 
ladies  hitherto  have  merely  called  at  the  front  doors, 
and  been  told,  "  We  do  not  want  any  Bibles."  But  I 
do  not  like  to  omit  any  family,  because  every  one 
ought  to  have  a  Bible. 

February  ^d. — Attended  the  Ladies'  Committee  : 
the  reports  were  much  more  encouraging  than  last 
time.  They  have  taken  up  two  hundred  of  the  sub- 
scribers I  have  obtained,  and  I  have  been  round  with 
several  new  collectors  to  introduce  them  to  the  sub- 
scribers ;  also,  with  four  persons  desirous  of  undertak- 
ing the  work  of  colpartage,  under  the  Bible  Society's 
auspices,  in  other  districts. 


\ 


LIFE   IN   okay's   inn    LANE. 


209 


Employed  in  tho  afternoon  in street.    Saw  an 

aged  woman,  who,  when  I  inquired  if  she  would  buy 
a  Bible,  replied,  "  No,  thank  you,  sir ;  I  have  one.  I 
should  not  like  to  live  in  a  house  where  there  was  not 
a  Bible." 

"  I  suppose  you  have  had  oae  a  long  time  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir.  The  Bible  was  the  first  thing  I  bought 
after  I  was  married,  and  it  has  been  the  guide  of  my 
life  from  tliat  time  until  now." 

At  the  next  house  at  which  I  called,  a  man  said, 
"  Curse  you  and  your  Bible,"  and  shut  the  door  in  my 
face. 

4th. — A  man  in street  said,  "  He  did  not  think 

it  was  right  for  the  parsons  to  endeavor  to  shut  up 
people's  shops  on  Sunday,  when  they  earn  their  own 
living  by  preaching  on  that  day." 

"  Have  you,  sir,  a  Bible  ?  " 

"  No  ;  and  I  don't  want  one.  I  have  something 
else  to  do  besides  reading  the  Bible  ;  and  if  people 
who  go  to  churches  and  chapels  would  read  less  and 
work  more,  and  pay  their  way,  tlie  times  would 
mend." 

"  Sir,  I  should  like  to  have  a  little  talk  with  you 
about  the  times.  I  will  call  again  this  afternoon  when 
you  have  had  your  dinner." 

"  All  right,  my  good  man  ;  if  you  call  after  dinner 
I  shall  have  more  time." 


210 


THE  MISSING  LINK. 


i| 


1  did  call,  and  before  I  left  him  I  had  his  name  as  a 
subscriber  for  a  Bible  at  6s.  6d. 

Qth. — I  canvassed Place.  It  has  not  a  respec- 
table name.  I  walked  round  it  two  or  three  times, 
looking  at  the  shop  windows,  and  noticing  the  chil- 
dren at  play.  The  question  was  asked  more  than  once, 
"  What's  that  man  after?  "  I  spoke  to  a  person  wlio 
was  standing  about,  and  he  happened  to  be  the  col- 
lector of  the  rents  of  most  of  the  rooms.  From  him 
I  learned  that  there  were  thirty-six  houses  in  the  place, 
and  that  about  three  hundred  families  lived  in  them — 
one  family  in  each  room,  and  sometimes  two,  and  that  I 
could  pass  from  room  to  room  without  asking  leave  at 
the  front  door.  Then  I  went  to  work,  praying  for  the 
Divine  blessing. 

Some  of  the  people  are  very  poor,  and  these  rooms 
have  scarcely  any  furniture.  When  they  move,  which 
they  often  do,  there  is  scarcely  anything  to  take  uway. 
Many  had  no  bedstead.  Something  that  served  for  a 
bed — apparently  for  all  the  family — was  rolled  up  in 
the  corner  of  the  room.  I  went  into  one,  where  tfe'j 
man,  a  shoemaker,  was  at  his  work.  His  wife  was 
washing,  and  a  child  on  the  floor  squalling.  I  took 
up  the  child,  spoke  to  it  kindly,  and  hushed  it  with  a 
peppermint  lozenge.  Afterwards  I  turned  to  the  man 
and  looked  at  his  work.  •-  r^i  ^ 

"  Do  you  want  any  thing  to-day,  master  ?"said  he. 


t 


^ 


LIFK    IN   (illAYS   INN   LANE. 


, 


r 


"I  was  thinking," said  I,  *'  if  you  knew  of  any  rL,ni 
edy  for  cold  feet :  the  people  keep  nio  standing  so  long 
at  their  doors.  Yet  I  have  pretty  strong  shoes  al- 
ready." *'  I  should  think,"  said  he,  "  you  had  better 
wear  horsehair  soles  in  your  shoes."  Meantime  I  had 
unstrapped  my  box,  and  displayed  to  him  the  largo 
print  2s.  6d.  Bible. 

Now,"  said  I,  "  you  have  done  me  a  service,  I  think 
I  shall  do  you  one  if  I  offer  you  this  book  from  the 
Bible  Society  at  2s.  6d.,  and  by  the  payment  of  a  penny 
a  week  you  can  get  it.    I  don't  see  any  Bible  here." 

"  Well,"  said  the  man,  "  'tis  a  fine  type.  Sally,  look 
here." 

Now  I  thought  that  Sally,  as  she  came  forward  with 
her  hands  in  the  suds,  might  say,  "  No,  we've  no  money 
to  spare."  So  while  the  man  read  a  verse  or  two  I 
said  to  her,  "  Mistress,  I  fear  you  won't  get  those 
clothes  dry  to-night."  She  looked  up  at  me,  and  said, 
"  Yes,  I  shall  ;  I've  a  hundred  of  coals  all  ready,  and 
I  shall  soon  get  them  dry." 

"  I  am  very  happy  to  hear,  mistress,  that  you  have 
a  hundred  of  coals  while  times  are  so  hard  with  many. 
I  think  you  will  be  able  to  spare  a  penny  a  week  to 
get  this  nice  Bible.  Your  master  here  must  drink  a 
pennyworth  less  beer." 

"  Ah,  master,"  said  the  man,  "  I'm  of  your  mind  on 
that  already,  for  I  am  a  teetotaler." 


212 


THE  MISSING  LINK. 


"  Well,  then,  mistress,"  said  I,  turning  to  the  woman, 
"  you  must  have  the  book  by  a  little  pinch  iu  the  tea 
and  sugar — it  won't  be  much." 

So  the  man  gave  me  his  name  as  a  subscriber. 
When  r  visit  these  people  with  the  lady  collector  we 
must  have  a  little  further  talk  on  the  priceless  value 
of  the  book  they  are  going  to  buy.  I  obtained  that 
morning  twenty-one  subscribers,  and  I  think,  if  I  were 
to  go  tlirough  the  place  again,  I  might  obtain  twelve 
or  fiftoon  more.      i, 


I 


Many  more  days  were  devoted  by  Shaw  to  explor- 
ing tlie  "cork-screw"  courts  on  the  left  hand  side 
of  Grnv's  Inn  Lane,  where  he  has  obtained  the  names 
of  forty  subscribers.  We  must  let  him  tell  his^  own 
tale —  ' 

If  ever  a  female  missionary  was  wanted  to  follow  up 
my  footsteps,  he  says,  it  is  there.  I  have  been  into 
courts  also  out  of  Chancery  Lane,  so  narrow  that, 
thougli  there  is  a  sky  above  them,  the  people  never 
foel  tlie  sun.  I  have  been  into  old  houses  that  seem 
ready  to  fall,  and  up  staircase  after  staircase,  into 
rooms  whore  I  could  not  get  my  breath  for  the  smoke 
and  the  thick  foul  air.  I  was  going  up  to  the  top  of 
one  liouse,  when  a  woman  called  me  back  and  said, 
"  Master,  you  need  not  go  up  there  ;  there  is  a  dead 


LIFE  IN   gray's   inn   LANE. 


213 


man  there."  "  Well,"  said  I,  "  ray  message  is  to  the 
living,  and  not  to  the  dead.  Are  there  any  living  up 
there  ?"  She  said  "  she  believed  there  were ;"  so  I 
persever-^d,  notwithstanding  the  close  atmosphere,  and 
on  the  top  floor  I  sold  a  Bible. 

"  What  kind  of  people  live  in  such  houses,  and  why 
do  they  live  there  V 

"  The  rents  are  cheap — only  two  shillings  a  week 
for  a  room.  The  people  are  a  mixed  folk — shoemakers, 
idlers,  and  smokers,  women  washing  and  gossiping. 
Many  said  *  they  were  not  religious,  and  did  not  want  a 
Bible.'  I  went  up  two  branches  of  stairs,  which  must 
once  have  belonged  to  a  grand  old  house.  At  the 
head  of  each  were  six  rooms — very  dark  and  dusty 
rooms,  the  windows  stuffed  up  with  rags.  A  great 
many  of  the  people  were  Irish  and  Romanists,  who 
said  '  they  were  not  going  to  be  converted.'  Still  I 
found  subscribers.  I  went  through  every  room  of  a 
large  public-house,  let  out  in  lodgings  to  a  strange  set 
of  people.  Here  a  fine  lady  opened  the  door ;  above, 
a  shoemaker,  who  had  once  been  a  Sunday  scholar, 
was  glad  to  purchase  a  fourpenny  Testament.  I  got 
twelve  names  in  those  courts  ;  and  here  and  there  I 
met  with  decent  women  of  the  church-going  and  Bible- 
class  order,  living  (I  myself  wondered  why)  in  some  of 
the  foulest  corners." 

^^  Perhaps  these  are  the  very  people  who  might  be 


w- 


214 


THE  MISSING  LINK. 


ccdhd  out  to  mend  the  rest.  Your  descriptions  to- 
day are  really  worse  than  those  of  your  walks  in  St. 
Giles's." 

"  I  have,  indeed,  never  seen  such  dirt  as  I  saw  yester- 
day. I  have  been  into  places  where  not  even  the  City 
Missionaries  visit,  and  where  the  people  say,  *  Nobody 
cares  for  usJ  The  residents  are  costermongers,  pawn- 
brokers, keepers  of  little  rag  and  bone  shops,  and  I 
suppose  there  are  many  thieves — a  mass  of  over  six 
hundred  families,  living  in  a  state  of  filth  and  destitu- 
tion such  as  I  could  not  have  dreamed.  I  was  sick  and 
ill  all  through  the  night,  and  what  must  they  be  who 
always  breathe  such  air  ?" 


i 


As  Shaw  was  passing  a  book-stall  one  afternoon  in 
Gray's  Inn  Lane  in  the  course  of  his  rounds,  he  observ- 
ed a  blind  man,  led  by  a  dog  (to  which  he  spoke  as 
"Blue' or"),  turning  over  some  little  books,  which  the 
boy  in  attendance  appeared  to  have  reserved  for  him 
as  a  well-known  customer.  They  were  small  religious 
books  for  children,  and  the  blind  man  from  time  to 
time  requested  the  boy  to  read  him  a  paragraph  here 
and  there,  selecting  for  purchase  those  from  which  a 
sentence  seemed  lo  please  him. 

After  watching  him  for  a  little  time,  Shaw  addressed 
some  question  to  the  blind  man  on  the  nature  of  the 
books  he  was  buying,  and  a  smile  brightened  over  his 


LIFE   IN  gray's   inn   LANE. 


215 


face,  though  not  in  his  eyes,  as  he  recognized  the  dia- 
lect of  a  fellow-countryman.  "  Do  you  know  Staley- 
bridge  and  Dukinfield  ?  "  said  he,  in  reply. 

"  How  came  you  to  think  I  did  ?  "  said  Shaw. 

"  Oh  !  I  knowed  you  by  your  tongue.  I  come  my- 
self from  thereabouts.  Let's  come  and  talk  over  a 
cup  of  tea,  and  then  you  can  read  me  some  more  of 
these  books.  Stay,"  said  he  ;  «  how  do  you  get  your 
living?" 

"  I,  too,  sell  books,"  said  Shaw  ;  ''  but  they  are  all 
of  one  kind.  I  am  a  Bible-seller.  I  sell  this  book 
for  tenpence  (putting  one  into  the  man's  hand).  It  is 
a  beautiful-looking  book,  as  you  can  feel,  perhaps ; 
but  not  one  that  you  can  read.  You  have  not  a 
Bible,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  have  the  Gospels  in  raised  letters,  and  I 
sometimes  carry  one  with  me,  and  sit  down  to  read  it 
to  the  children  in  a  quiet  place,  and  they  gather  round 
and  listen,  and  I  want  these  little  books  to  sell  to 
them.  I  sell  a  great  many,  and  so  do  some  good,  and 
turn  a  penny  for  myself,  which  sadly  I  want  since  poor 
Fanny  died.  Fanny  was  my  wife,  you  know,  and  I 
lost  her,  last  Christmas." 

So  Shaw  went  home  with  him  to  tea,  not  for  tlie 
sake  of  the  tea,  but  the  companionship.  He  found  lie 
lived  in  a  very  clean  back  room  in  Portpool-lane.  The 
tea  was  only  herb  tea,  but  it  was  given  with  a  wel- 


#> 


216 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


come.  The  man  said  he  was  well  known  in  London 
as  '*  Blind  Jemmy,"  and  that  he  had  many  friends. 
He  had  lost  his  sight  twelve  years  ago,  having  been 
an  engine-fitter  on  tlie  London  and  North-Western 
Railway,  and,  in  chipping  metal  facing  another  man, 
one  of  his  eves  had  been  struck  out,  and  the  other  noi 
long  after  had  decayed  away.  He  had  had  the  best 
medical  aid  afforded  him  by  the  Company,  but  the 
sight  was  irrecoverably  gone. 

"  I  had  lost,"  said  poor  Jemmy,  "  my  working  sight, 
but  not  long  afterwards  God  gave  me  my  spiritual 
sight.  I  lived  then  with  some  uncles  and  aunts  down 
in  your  parts,  and  they  were  pious  people,  and  taught 
me  the  true  comfort.  I  remember  well  a  solitary 
place — a  little  running  brook  in  Rochdale — where  I 
first  knelt  down  and  could  say, '  Thy  will  be  done,  0 
Lord,  not  mine  ; '  and  He  has  cared  for  me  ever  since. 
Soon  afterwards  He  gave  me  Fanny,  and  He  has  never 
suffered  me  to  want  my  humble  crust.  People  often 
say  to  me,  specially  since  I  lost  Fanny, '  Jemmy,  why 
don't  you  go  into  the  workhouse  V  '  I  do  go  there,' 
I  answer,  *  once  a  week,  but  it  is  to  carry  sixpence  to 
a  man  who  used,  when  he  was  able,  to  give  me  my  two 
shillings,  so  I  never  forget  him  ; '  but  may  God  keep 
me  from  abiding  beneath  that  hard  and  heavy 
knocker." 

"Your  place  is  very  clean,  Jemmy,"  said   Shaw. 


f 


■';( 


LIFE   IN   GRAYS   INN    LANB. 


217 


leavy 


Ihaw. 


"  You  tell  me  that  you're  out  all  day  going  your  rounds 
with  Blucher  :  how  do  you  have  it  so  clean  ?" 

"  I  am  always  up  at  five,"  said  Jemmy  ;  "  I  can't 
sleep  any  longer.  I  have  to  wash  myself  and  say  my 
prayers.  I  clean  it,  as  Fanny  did,  on  a  Friday,  that 
I  may  not  have  so  much  to  contend  with  on  a  Satur- 
day, and  that  I  may  be  ready  for  Sunday.  1  tie  a  cord 
across  the  floor,  that  I  may  know  how  far  I  have  scrub- 
bed, and  not  do  it  over  again  ;  but  ah,  since  Fanny 
died,  I've  often  been  in  my  difficults.  If  the  button- 
holes of  my  coat  are  worn  out  I  have  to  mend  them 
myself." 

Much  more  of  interesting  detail  passed,  and  it  seem- 
ed to  Shaw  that  this  man,  from  his  wish  and  effort  to 
do  good  among  the  children  by  the  wayside,  with  his 
Bible-reading  and  his  little  books,  might,  though  witli 
one  sense  less  than  his  fellows,  in  some  way  be  made  a 
missionary  in  his  own  degree,  with  a  little  help  and 
guidance.  This  was  a  very  pleasant  leaf  from  life  in 
Gray's  Inn  Lane. 

Shaw's  researches  in  this  localitv  have  been  followed 
up  by  the  visits  of  ladies,  nnd  ii  Bible-woman  named 
Lydia  has  now  been  employed  there  al«o  for  twelve 
months.  Her  reports  of  the  district  were  for  a  long 
time  most  disheartening  ;  yet  she  gradually  obtained 
280  Bible  subscribers,  and,  after  long  perseverance  and 
patience,  is  succeeding  as  well  as  her  compeers  in  ob- 
10 


218 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


::      I 


' 


taining  subscriptions  for  decent  clothing.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  leaf  from  her  Journal.     She  says :       ' 

"  July  21th. — In  going  out  this  morning  I  prayed  that 
I  might  be  made  a  comfoi  t  to  some  one.  In  the  courts 
at  the  back  of  Chancery-lane  I  find  a  moral  waste  ;  in 
many  rooms  dirt  is  almost  the  only  clothing  of  the 
poor  children.  Here  and  there  a  tidy  person  seems 
like  a  green  tree  in  the  wilderness.  I  trust  ere  long 
that  many  of  the  people  will  be  induced  to  read  God's 
Word,  as  several  have  begun  to  pay  for  Bibles. 

"  In  Baldwin's-gardens,  another  part  of  this  district, 
more  wretched  than  the  former,  sin  reigns  in  every 
form.  The  people  are  generally  very  poor  and  de- 
praved. Drunkenness  is  almost  always  the  cause  of 
the  apparant  misery. 

^^  August  Sth. — I  visited  to-day  a  poor  young  Avoman 
who  seems  far  advanced  in  consumption,  very  weak, 
and  in  great  distress, — her  husband,  who  is  a  law-writer, 
not  having  been  able  to  obtain  employment  for  some 
time.  Spoke  to  her  about  her  soul,  and  found  her 
willing  to  converse  upon  that  subject.  She  has  had  a 
Testament  given  her,  in  which  she  feels  great  comfort. 
I  pray  that  +'^'^  Lord  will  open  the  eyes  of  her  under- 
standing, and  that  ere  death  overtakes  her  she  will  be 
able  to  say, '  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed  ;'  and 
then  she  will  be  able  to  give  up  her  dear  little  boy  and 
her  husband  to  One  who  will  never  leave  nor  forsake 


I 


LIFE   IN   GRAY  S   INN    LANE. 


2iy 


an 

leak, 

iter, 

lome 
lier 
,d  a 
^ort. 
der- 
1  be 
and 
and 
[sake 


them.  I  next  went  to  a  house  where,  for  the  fourth  time, 
I  found  the  man  in  bed,  drunk.  His  unhappy  wife,  who 
appears  a  decent  woman,  said  he  had  not  been  sober 
for  a  whole  month,  and  that  slie  was  obliged  to  cut  liis 
food  and  put  it  into  his  mont'.i,  or  lie  would  be  starved 
to  death,  he  was  so  unconscious  of  wanting  anything 
but  drink.  Words  are  useless — he  does  not  know  that 
he  is  spoken  to.  0  that  the  Lord  would  have  mercy 
on  this  miserable  drunkard ! 

"  I  then  got  into  a  house  where  1  was  obliged  to 
wait  up  stairs  for  a  long  time,  owing  to  drunken  women 
qarrelling  and  fighting  in  the  passage :  hard  names 
and  harsh  words  were  used,  not  fit  to  be  mentioned. 
I  often  feel  sick  at  heart.  Lord,  have  mercy  upon 
them,  for  they  have  none  upon  themselves ! 

"  I  have  visited  to-day  the  wife  and  daughters  of 
another  poor  drunkard,  who  came  home  and  threw 
almost  all  their  things  out  of  the  window,  and  some  of 
them  fell  upon  a  little  child,  nearly  killing  it.  I  strongly 
suspect  that  the  wife  is  not  much  better  than  the  hus- 
band. I  have  tried  to  show  her  the  evil  of  such  a 
course  of  life,  and  the  bad  example  they  are  setting 
before  their  wretched  cliildren.  Remonstrance  seems 
of  little  use  at  tlie  present  time.  Drink  appears  to 
be  all  thev  live  for ;  but  we  must  remember  that  the 
Lord's  hand  is  not  shortened,  neithoi*  is  Ills  car  heavy 
tliat  it  cannot  hear.     Obliged  to  wait  again  upon  llio 


I 

I 


220 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


stairs :  a  man  drunk,  beating  the  room  door  with  all 
his  might,  and  using  the  most  dreadful  language ;  it 
was  quite  terrific  to  hear  it.  I  am  often  asked  by 
these  people  to  treat  tliem,  or  lend  them  a  few  pence." 

Lydia  soon  began  the  Clothing  and  Bed  Clubs.  She 
found  few  at  first  willing  to  subscribe  ;  but  we  went 
on  in  faith  that  this  would  be  the  most  practical  cru- 
sade against  the  gin-bottle. 

Gray's  Inn  Lane  always  presents  itself  to  our  minds 
when  we  think  of  a  district  at  first  discouraging,  and 
afterwards  fruitful.  We  had  almost  doubted  the 
energy  of  the  agent,  who  did  not  happen  to  have 
found  the  help  of  a  Lady  Superintendent.  Lydia  now 
serves  two  of  the  City  Missionaries'  rooms  with  cloth- 
ing, and  the  results  of  her  visits  to  the  family,  where 
the  man  had  not  been  sober  for  a  month,  are  most 
cheering  :  she  has  induced  him  to  become  a  teetotaler, 
''  chiefly,"  she  says,  "  by  arguments  from  the  Bible  in 
Bole  words."  He  says  "  nobody  ever  talked  to  him 
before."  He  is  now  grown  "  quite  stout  and  happy." 
She  has  not  yet  succeeded  in  inducing  him  to  attend  a 
place  of  worship,  but  he  has  had  a  Bible,  and  has  kept 
sober  ever  since.  He  did  so  even  at  Christmas  time, 
so  that  the  reformation  now  is  of  some  standing.  Here, 
also,  the  district  presents  altered  features  from  the 
now  better  clothing  of  the  people.  "  Even  the  coster- 
monger  women  look  so  neat  in  their  print  gowns." 


LIFE    IN    GRAYS    INN    LANE. 


221 


most 

aler, 
e  in 
liim 

tpy-" 

nd  a 
kept 
time, 
lere, 
the 
jster- 


i 


The  City  Mifjsionaries  of  the  district  were  uot  at 
first  sure  but  tliat  the  new  work  miglit  interfere  with 
theirs.  Those  who  liave  come  to  understand  it  have 
hailed  it  as  the  very  tiling  that  liad  so  long  been 
wanted  among  the  people ;  and  when  we  say  this  it 
conveys  not  the  slightest  reflection  on  any  preceding 
agency.  There  had  been  District  Visitors  in  Gray's 
Inn  Lane.  There  had  been  Ragged  Schools  and 
Mothers'  Classes,  with  their  Clothing  Clubs  attached. 
There  had  been  Visitors  from  the  Christian  Instruc- 
tion Societies  of  various  degree  ;  but  the  whole  num- 
ber called  in  by  these  was  nothing  (and  every  earnest 
worker  knew  it)  to  the  numbers  passed  over  of  those 
who  were  in  the  most  need  of  being  cared  for. 

It  is  visitation  in  their  homes,  and  by  those  whom 
they  will  permit  to  enter,  which  is  needed  by  the  Lon- 
don poor.  The  clergyman  himself  is  thought  by  a 
large  class  too  good  and  grand  ;  the  visits  of  tlie 
Scripture-reader  and  City  Missionary  are  objected  to 
by  many  of  the  husbands,  in  their  own  absence.  Of 
the  Lady  Visitor  they  will  beg,  and  tliink  slic  has  no 
right  to  come  to  them  except  she  brings  relief ;  and 
they  sa} ,  besides,  that  she  is  seldom  punctual.  But  for 
the  quiet,  civil  woman  of  their  own  class,  who  knows 
their  difficulties  and  is  surprised  at  nothing,  for  her 
they  have  evidently  a  very  different  welcome.  Now,  it 
is  teaching  the  mothers  in  those  homes — the  motJiers 


I 


222 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


who  will  not  come  out  to  learn — tlie  coinmon  arts  of 
domestic  life,  of  which  tlicir  deficient  education  and 
tlieir  early  thriftless  marriages  have  left  them  totally- 
ignorant,  that  is  the  crying  tvant  of  the  times  ;  and  this 
is  woman's  work.  It  should  bo  the  work,  under  right 
direction,  of  women  of  their  own  degree,  who  must  be 
moderately  paid  and  carefully  superintended  agents ; 
and  it  is  this  beginning  at  the  roots  of  society  that 
would  do  away  with  the  need  of  half  our  Reforma- 
tories, Refuges,  and  Ragged  Schools,  and  double  the 
efficacy  of  all  the  rest. 

That  such  a  range  of  efforts  should  be  intimately 
associated  with,  and  should,  indeed,  spring  out  of,  the 
offer  of  the  Book  of  God,  is  especially  necessary.  This 
must  be  the  visible  mark  of  its  distinction  from  Roman- 
ist and  Tractarian  exertions.  The  church  "  which 
hides  the  Book"  has  no  more  subtle  and  extensive 
power  over  its  members  than  is  gained  by  its  system 
of  female  charitable  visitation.  That  church  can  find 
the  women — that  clmrch  lacks  not  the  means  to  employ 
them  ;  and  shall  the  Protestant  strength  of  Christen- 
dom believe  the  same  work  impossible  ? 

If  there  is  one  desire  nearer  to  the  heart  of  those 
who  are  at  present  extending  this  Protestant  agency 
than  another,  it  is  that  the  work  shall  be  wide  in  its 
basis,  and  tliat  union,  prayer,  and  faith,  shall  be  its 
foundation    stones ;     "  Union    in   which    sects    shall 


-4.. 


LIPE  IN  CRAY'S  INN   LANE.  223 

-".•coly  be  namcl  i,,  n,c  cl.oicc  of  the  wo.kcn  • 
I  I'uyo.-  that  rests  „„t  „i,.,,t  „..  aay  ■  FaitI,  that  takei 
"0  de,nal,"  a„,l  we  have  hitherto  found  none,  whctl,er 
«»  .^gards  i„8trun.ents  or  the  fund.,  to  suppiv  their 


■•«••*■ 


\ 


i 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

SSTUBR   AND    HARRIET;    OR,   TIMES   PAST   AND 
riiESENT. 

Leaving  Lydia  at  work  in  Gray's  Inn  Lane,  and 
Dinah  in  PortpooMune  and  in  Sroithfield,  let  us  pass 
to  Somers'  Town,  where  we  shall  find  an  Esther,  who 
has  been  occupied  in  similar  visitation  for  about  the 
space  of  a  year,  during  which  time  she  has  had  more 
than  350  Bible  subscribers,  and  has  been  made  a  bless- 
ing to  many.  To  imagine  the  scene  of  her  labors  our 
readers  may  follow  Shaw  into  the  Saturday  evening 
market,  called  the  Brill. 

Thi''  is  iield  in  a  long  narrow  street  of  small  shops  ; 
the  stalls  are  placed  l)c  vond  the  pavement,  and  out  in 
the  gutter,  leaving  space  for  but  one  cart  to  pass  down 
between  them  at  a  timo.  Wlicn  this  is  a  water-cart — 
which  is  often  necessary  on  account  of  the  dust  and 
heat — plums,  oysters,  potatoes,  &c.,  may  be  refreslied  ; 
but  it  is  not  so  with  books.  However,  a  friend  of 
(224) 


\  \ 


KSTIIKIt    .VXD    HAIIIIIKT. 


225 


ling 


fps  ; 
in 
)\vn 


Ian 


d 


ot 


the  Bible  Societ}",  acquainted  with  the  neii^'hhoihood, 
pointed  out  the  best  phice  for  a  stall — a  vacant  spot  in 
the  front  of  a  beershop. 

*' The  master,"  says  Shaw,  "gave  nie  permission  to 
pet  up  my  stall  in  the  front  of  tiiis  hoJise,  and  said, 
*  You  had  better  take  your  stand  tliere  Simday  morn- 
iuii^s  as  well  as  Saturday  evenin*»s.'  I  said  1  was  much 
obliged,  but  could  not  work  on  a  Sunday.  '  Wei!,' 
replied  he,  'you  might  sell  more  on  a  Sunday  morning 
here  tlian  any  other  day.  There  is  a  great  need  of 
Bibles  here.  We  are  a  wicked  lot ;  and  I  do  not 
know  what  will  mend  us.' 

"  The  first  night  I  sold  twenty  copies — seven  Bibles 
and  thirteen  Testaments. 

"  On  the  second  Saturday  I  met  with  many  remarks. 
One  young  man  said,  *  He  did  not  want  a  Bible  ;  it 
was  all  priestcraft ;  he  could  write  a  better  book  than 
that  himself.' 

"  Another  said,  *  Can  you  tell  me  who  wrote  the 
Bible  ? '  '  Yes,  sir  ;  holy  men  wrote  it,  as  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.'  '  I  will  have  nothing  to  do 
with  it.  The  Holy  Ghost  will  not  feed  me.  I  am 
going  on  the  other  side  to  buy  beef.'  May  the  Lord 
open  his  blind  eyes  ! 

"  An  Irishman  said,  '  You  are  selling  a  dangerous 
book,  master.  Why,  the  people  can't  understand  it 
all.  They  put  a  wrong  meaning  on  it ;  and  it  is  King 
10* 


i 


226 


THE    MISSINO    LINK. 


ITnrry  tlio  Ei*,ji:htli's  edition.  He  was  a  bad  man,  and 
ho  could  not  write  a  good  book.' 

"Tlioii  eumc  a  little  encouragement.  One  said, 
'  Master,  tliis  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction.'  Another 
man  remarked,  '  I  am  glad  to  see  you  here.  My  boy 
bouglit  a  Testament  in  the  market  last  Saturday,  and 
he  tells  mo  you  are  selling  Bibles.  I  have  come  to  look 
at  tliein,  and  1  hope  you  will  sell  many.' 

*'  About  nine  o'clock  a  young  boy  who  stood  next 
to  me,  selling  pictures  in  gilt  frames  at  fourpence  each, 
was  I  a  ken  by  the  policeman  to  the  station.  It  was 
said  lie  liad  been  picking  pockets. 

'•  At  ten  o'clock  the  crcwd  was  great,  and  as  several 
]iorsoiis  were  looking  at  my  books,  some  one  came  and 
u|>'ot  my  stall.  By  the  time  I  had  gathered  up  my 
l»()()ks  from  the  pavement  the  offender  was  gone.  Some 
said  i(  was  a  drunken  woman.  Sold  to-night  eight 
IVihlos  and  thirteen  Testaments." 

Somcrs'  Town  is  generally  known  to  be  a  poor  and 
densely-populated  neighborhood,  whose  origin  is  of 
comparatively  recent  date.  Aged  people  are  living 
who  remember  the  time  when  it  consisted  of  open 
Jields,  with  here  and  tliere  a  house,  and  these  fields 
wore  famou.'  for  the  Sunday  meetings  of  the  Chart'sts. 
Now  it  is  wholly  built  over,  and  the  number  of  iuhab- 
itants  exceeds  tliat  of  Kentish  and  Camden  Towns 
combined.     In  1851  it  ccntainod  more  tlian  3500  per- 


ESTHER   AND    HARRIET. 


227 


and 
is  of 


o* 


Ivm 


|open 
lelds 

It'sts. 
ilial)- 

lowns 
per- 


sons ;  and  while  the  population  has  been  increasing  so 
rapidly  there  has  been,  until  lately,  little  increased 
provision  for  their  educational  or  spiritual  wants  so 
that  we  have  to  overtake  the  neglects  of  a  past  gene- 
ration. 

Somers'  Town  lies  in  the  parisli  of  St.  Pancras, 
once  the  name  of  a  solitary  village  in  the  fields  "  situ- 
ated nortli  of  London,  one  mile  from  Holborn  Bars." 
It  was  a  parisli  before  the  Norman  Conquest,  and  is 
called  St.  Pancras  in  Domesday  Book.  Stukeley 
affirms  that  the  site  of  old  Pancras  church  was  occu- 
pied by  Ctesar's  Roman  encampment,  and  traces  the 
Brill  in  Somers'  Town  to  a  contraction  of  Burgh  Plill, 
a  Saxon  name  for  a  fortified  place  on  an  elevated  site. 
The  surface  of  old  London  lay  fifteen  feet  below  its 
present  level  ;  and  where  a  Roman  general  pitched  his 
camp  the  floor  of  his  tent  became  a  tesselated  pave- 
ment :  buried  coins,  lamps,  and  vases,  t'^^.tified  of  his 
presence,  and  sometimes  baths  and  watercourses,  with 
the  foundations  of  temples  and  of  altars. 

The  low  ground  v/hich  skirts  the  rovtern  side  of 
Islington,  separating  it  from  St.  Pancras,  is  the  tradi- 
tionary scene  of  that  destructive  onset  described  by 
Tacitus,  in  wliich  80,000  of  the  Britons  fell  in  slaugh- 
tered heaps  before  tlie  enraged  legions  of  Suetonius. 
The  British  queen,  Boadicea,  at  their  head,  had,  after 
a  fierce  onslaught  on  London,  burnt  the  town  and 


^2S 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


! 


scattered  tlie  inhabitants  ;  but ''  Suetonius  made  a  vic- 
torious stand  in  a  fortified  pass,  with  a  forest  in  his 
rear."  By  tlie  help  of  the  ancient  historian  and  the 
modern  poet,  we  may  imagine  the  mingled  and  disor- 
derly throng  of  Britons  surrounding  their  queen,  who, 
accompanied  by  her  outraged  daughters,  harangues 
them  from  her  chariot,  inciting  them  to  revenge  upon 
her  conquerors. 

"  When  the  British  warrior  queen, 

Bleeding  from  the  Roman  rods, 
Sought  with  an  indignant  mein, 

Counsel  from  her  country's  gods, 
Sage  beneath  the  spreading  oaks 

Sate  the  Druid,  hoary  chief. 
Every  burning  word  he  spoka 

Full  of  rage  and  full  of  grief! 

"  '  Princess,  if  our  aged  eyes 

Weep  not  for  thy  matciiless  wrongs, 
'Tis  bee  luse  resentment  ties 

AH  the  terror  of  our  tongues. 
Rome  shall  perish  I     Write  that  word 

In  the  blood  that  she  has  spilt — 
Perish,  hopeless  and  abhorr'd, 

Deep  in  ruin  as  in  guilt. 

"  '  Then  the  progeny  that  springs 

From  the  forests  of  our  land, 
Arra'd  with  tliunder,  clad  with  wings, 

Shall  a  wider  world  command. 
Regions  C?esar  never  knew, 

Thy  posterity  shall  sway ; 
Where  his  eagles  never  flew, 

None  invincible  as  they.'  " 


IP 


ESTHER    AND    HARRIET. 


♦i29 


The  "  spreading  oaks''  arc  no  more,  but  the  Druid'rt 
words  arc  fulfilled.  The  Bible,  wliich  Boadicea  knew 
not,  has  raised  licr  country  to  be  mistress  of  the 
nations  ;  but  it  is  sad  to  tliink  that  a  spot  tlius  haunted 
by  historic  memories  should  be  one  of  the  most  heathen 
in  the  metropolis. 

In  those  former  days,  tlie  native  Briton,  from  his 
hut  among  the  copse-wood  on  the  ridge  of  the  Burgher 
ITill,  might  look  over  a  wide  plain  to  tlie  still  more 
elevated  ground  of  High-bury  and  High-gate,  parted 
by  the  Hollow-way.  The  author  of  "  The  Vestiges 
of  Roman  London  "  tells  us  that  Suetonius  retired  to 
Barnsbury  before  the  Britons  ;  and  adds  that,  until 
within  the  last  few  years,  the  remains  of  an  encamp- 
ment (for  which  the  Romans  always  chose  an  elevated 
site)  were  to  be  found  in  what  was  called  the  "  Red 
Moat  Field,"  a  little  to  the  west  of  Barnsbury  Park. 
The  moat  was  twenty  feet  wide  and  twelve  deep,  and 
the  embankment  offered  an  extensive  and  beautiful 
prospect,  northward  and  westward,  to  the  eye  weary 
of  bricks  and  mortar  ;  but  insatiate  London  still  ex- 
tends its  arms  to  devour  its  children,  and  has  swal- 
lowed up  all  the  suburban  hamlets  nestling  near  it. 
Wliite  Conduit  Fields  are  no  more  ;  "  Six-acre  Field," 
with  the  camp  of  the  Roman  general,  is  no  more  ;  and 
Fort  Cottage,  a  modern  villa,  usurps  the  Praetoriura 
of  Suetonius. 


230 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


And  what  of  Vae  Brill  ?  A  congregation  of  knack- 
ers' yards,  tile-kilns,  dust-heaps,  and  a  vast  new  cattle 
market,  with  rows  of  dingy  houses,  compose  its  present 
neighborhood  ;  and  Battle  Bridge,  whose  name  h  sup- 
posed to  point  to  the  memorable  encounter  abo-'C  men- 
tioned, is  the  terminus  of  the  King's  Cross  and  Great 
Northern  Railway.  The  Brill  is  one  of  the  poor  man's 
great  Saturday  evening  and  Sunday  markets.  There 
are  I  if'reds  of  stalls,  and  every  stall  has,  at  dusk, 
one  or  lights.     One  man   shows  off  his  yellow 

haddocks,  with  a  candle  stuck  in  a  bundle  of  fire- 
wood ;  his  neighbor,  the  boy  who  shouts,  ''  Eight  a 
penny,  splendid  pears ! "  makes  a  lamp  of  a  turnip ; 
while  the  butcher's  gas-lights  stream  in  the  wind  like 
flags  of  flame.  Alike  on  Saturday  night  and  Sunday 
morning  may  be  seen  "  a  riot,  a  struggle,  and  a  scram- 
ble for  a  living."  Unless  it  is  beheld, people  can  have 
no  idea  of  the  masses  of  unshorn  and  un  ,>  ashed  beings 
who  weekly  congregate  here. 

"  The  extent  of  Sunday  trading  is  frightful,"  says 
"  Esther,"  the  Bible-woman  ;  "  it  certainly  does  get 
worse  and  worse.  People  come  with  their  barrows 
from  the  East  End  of  London,  and  make  sales  of  fruit, 
etc.,  all  the  day  long.  The  police  look  on,  seemingly 
not  knowing  what  to  do.  Many  a  man,  clever  at  his 
business,  and  earning  good  wages,  has  nothing  left  on 
Monday  morning,  for  the  Sabbath  has  been  passed  in 


i 


f*^ 


ESTHER    AND    HAllRIET. 


231 


Isavs 
get 

0W9 

[ruit, 

Ills 

t  on 

in 


I 


drinking,  cursing  and  swearing,  fighting  and  quarrel- 
ing. I  called  on  the  wife  of  such  a  one,  and,  happen- 
ing to  find  her  sober  and  at  work,  I  told  her  the  awful 
end  tlure  would  be  to  such  a  life  as  tlieirs.  She  said 
her  husband  had  led  her  to  it  bv  liis  ill-treatment. 
The  sight  of  women  lying  senseless  in  the  street  from 
drink  is  sickening  to  behold.  They  are  frequently 
carried  off  on  stretchers  to  the  police  stations." 

A  person  walking  through  the  Brill  on  a  Sunday 
afternoon  would  find  the  tumultuous  business  of  the 
day  partly  over.  The  middle  of  the  narrow  streets 
is  thickly  strewn  with  cabbage  leaves  and  other  offal, 
showing  how  large  a  vegetable  market  has  been  held 
there.  Fi  hmongers  and  butchers'  shops  are  open  all 
day,  and  the  "  holy  rest"  of  the  Sabbath  is  claimed 
bodily,  at  least,  by  the  weary  salesman  snoring  on  a 
bench  beside  his  periwinkles,  and  the  Imtcl^or  dream- 
ing over  his  pipe  amid  the  remnants  of  his  veal  and 
mutton.  The  service  of  Satan  is  hard  service.  The 
men  are  chiefly  in  their  working  dress,  and  many  ap- 
pear to  have  been  drinking. 

Esther's  work  refers,  of  course,  to  week  days. 

"  When  I  offered  the  people  the  Bible,"  slie  says, 
"  and  they  answer,  '  Don't  want  any,'  '  Got  plenty,' 
'  No  time  to  read  it,'  I  often  reply, '  Listen  ])ut  to  one 
verse  ;  that  will  not  take  long,  and  a  word  from  this 
book  is  as  needful  to  your  soul  as  your  daily  food  to 


i 


m 


232 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


your  body.'  Often  where  refusal  meets  me  at  first  I 
get  permission  to  call  again.  They  are  not  altogether 
unwilling  to  have  it  said  to  them,  in  a  quiet  way,  '  Stop, 
poor  sinner,  stop  and  think  ;'  but  how  can  they  think 
when  they  give  themselves  no  Sabbaths  ?  They  often 
tell  me  I  am  the  first  person  that  ever  spoke  to  them, 
and  that  they  wish  they  could  have  listened  years  ago. 

*•  With  all  their  Sunday  trading,  they  do  not  appear 
to  enjoy  much  prosperity,  for  I  may  call  week  after 
week,  and  on  decent  people  too,  without  getting  a 
penny,  because  they  are  out  of  work.  Most  often,  of 
course,  drunkenness  is  the  source  of  the  prevailing 
misery,  and  sometimes  sudden  death  gives  a  loud  warn- 
ing to  all  around  who  are  living  in  their  sins.  An 
old  woman,  who  had  long  been  leading  a  most  degrad- 
ed life  of  deception,  was  called  away  at  last,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-two,  without  time  to  cry  for  mercy. 
She  was  struck  dead  at  the  bar  of  a  public-house, 
while  in  the  act  of  asking  for  a  glass  of  rum. 

"  People  in  the  '  Brill'  are  very  glad  to  hear  of  the 
clothing  and  bedding  club,  as  they  say  it  will  do  away 
with  the  tally  bills ;  they  could  not  possibly  buy  the 
articles  at  once,  or  save  the  money  to  do  it,  and  when 
they  obtain  the  things  tliey  so  much  want, '  it  comes 
to  them  like  a  gift.' 

"  Few  of  the  people  who  cnn  read,  and  are  Protes- 
tants, are  found  without  the  word  of  God  in  some 


ESTHER   AND    HARRIET. 


233 


)tes- 
brae 


small  form ;  but  wherever  the  large-print  Bible  is 
shown,  they  desire  to  possess  it,  and  readil}'  promise 
to  pay  the  penny  '  when  tlieir  husbands  get  into 
work.' 

'Delivered  a  2s.  6d.  Bible  {o  a  poor  aged  woman, 
who  stands  in  the  market,  and  was  extremely  anxious 
for  the  Book.  She  lias  such  a  wicked  husband,  that 
his  oaths  frighten  even  the  other  profane  persons  with 
whom  he  may  labor,  especially  his  oaths  at  the  Bible  ; 
and  though  she  has  not  lived  with  him  for  some  time, 
yet  he  is  always  annoying  her  in  the  market.  As  I 
went  to  her  for  the  last  payment,  fivepence,  he  was 
close  by.  So  desirous  was  she  to  get  it,  that  slie  left 
her  goods  and  came  after  me  to  a  distance  ;  borrowed 
a  halfpenny,  and  made  up  the  rest  in  farthings  ;  then 
hid  it  under  her  gown,  with  '  Thank  you,  thank  you, 
he  shall  not  see  it ;  I  am  so  glad  I  have  got  it.  May 
God  bless  it  to  my  soul!'  And  so  said  I  in  my 
heart." 

Another  good  female  agent  is  started  for  Cromer 
street,  in  the  St.  Pancras  district,  which  is  also  a 
radius  of  poor  streets  leading  from  the  King's  Cross 
Railway.  She  has  had  a  long  and  fitting  education 
for  the  work,  as  teacher  in  a  Ragged-school :  she  is  re- 
markably successful  in  obtaining  Bible  subscribers, 
even  after  the  earnest  voluntary  work  of  ladies  in  the 
same  district  continued  for  years. 


I 


k  i 


i 


234 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


A  frcsli  welcome  awaits  tlic  Female  Missionary  in 
every  locality.  One  woman  told  her  that  since  siie 
began  to  subscribe  for  a  Bible,  everything  seemed  to 
prosper,  and  that  she  hoped  next  week  to  pay  up  ;  for, 
though  she  cannot  read  herself,  she  could  get  some 
child  to  read  it  to  her.  She  was  unexpectedly  cheer- 
ed in  a  second  visit  to  a  kitchen,  which  she  had  found 
in  a  most  filthy  state,  but  where  the  woman  had  been 
persuaded  to  subscribe  for  a  Bible.  The  girl  met  her 
at  the  door,  and  said  her  father  wished  to  speak  to  the 
Bible-woman.  The  kitchen  was  no  longer  dirty,  and 
as  tlie  man  pointed  to  the  clean  floor  and  bright  fire, 
he  said,  "  God  bless  the  day  you  came  into  my  place  !" 
These  people  had  no  Bible  at  all,  and  a  Testament  lias 
been  lent  till  they  secure  their  own.  The  girls  were 
introduced  to  the  Sunday-night  Ragged-school,  and  in 
a  tliird  visit  a  poor  woman  was  found  teaching  them 
to  read. 

"  Harriet"  stepped  into  a  room  in  a  close  court, 
where  three  or  four  girls  were  taking  a  cup  of  tea  for 
their  dinner  with  an  old  woman,  its  mistress.  The 
Bible-woman  read  to  them  the  story  of  the  crucifixion, 
in  which  all  were  so  interested  that  they  determined 
to  buv  tlie  New  Testament  for  themselves.  "  It  would 
cost  fourpence,— and  would  she  bring  it  them  next 
week?  They  could  not  take  it  home  for  fear  of  the 
priest,  but  tiiey  would  come  to  listen  to  it  again  in 


ESTHER   AND    HARRIET. 


235 


ary  in 
:;o  she 
icd  to 
•  :  for, 
;  some 
cheer- 
found 
i  been 
net  her 
:  to  the 
ty,  and 
ht  fire, 
place !'' 
ent  has 
Is  were 
and  in 
them 

court, 
tea  for 
The 
[ifixion, 
Irmined 
would 
In  next 
of  the 
rain  in 


I 


Biddy's  room."  On  the  occasion  of  the  next  call  tlicy 
boug'ht,  with  their  united  funds,  not  a  Testament,  but 
a  lOd.  Bible.  Tlie  sister  of  one  of  these  girls  also 
bought  a  Bible  for  herself,  saving  the  pence  out  of  the 
money  allowed  her  to  get  her  dinner. 

"  Harriet"  believes  the  people  are  become  so  dirty 
for  want  of  some  one  being  kind  to  them,  and  helping 
them  on  to  cleanliness.  The  District  Visitors  speak 
to  them  at  their  doors,  but  their  dirt  renders  stepping 
within  a  great  self-denial.  The  very  tracts  given  have 
been  found  too  dirty  to  return  to  the  visitor's  bag ; 
and  any  disgust  expressed  only  renders  them  unwilling 
to  take  it  again.  Finding  fault  ivitli  them  does  not 
mend  them, — nothing  short  of  offering  them  the  opportu- 
nity of  doing  better.  The  neighbors  said  the  Bible, 
woman  had  done  great  wonders  ;  for  a  certain  man 
had,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  been  seen  sitting  at 
his  door  in  a  clean  shirt,  reading  the  Bible.  His  wife 
is  getting  much  tidier  in  her  home.  People  in  this  dis- 
trict out  at  work  all  the  week,  are  glad  to  come  with 
their  monev  in  their  hand  to  buv  the  readv-made  arti- 
cles  of  clothing  on  the  Saturday  night,  which  they 
have  seen,  and  only  been  able  to  pay  twopence  for, 
at  work  meetings  on  the  previous  Monday  evening. 
This  money  would  probably  otherwise  have  gone  for 
drink.  In  this  district,  lately,  a  man  was  thrown  oflf 
a  water-cart,  in  the  act  of  swearing  at  and  beating  his 


I 


[■*■ 


I      t 


230 


THE    M'SSINU    LINK. 


horse,  and,  being  mortally  liurt,  died  as  he  was  beiiip^ 
borne  to  the  hospital.  All  the  court  was  out  to  hear 
the  report  of  those  who  had  carried  him  awaj  and 
one  of  those  men  gave  a  terrible  testimony.  "  I  have 
often  heard  him,''  said  lie,  "  say,  '  Strike  me  aead,' 
when  he  was  angry  ;  and  now  God  has  just  done  it !  " 
Tills  appeared,  "  Harriet"  says,  to  make  a  great  im- 
pression for  the  time,  and  the  people  round  were  wil- 
ling to  let  her  read  and  pray  witli  them,  which  seemed 
needed,  and  she  was  glad  to  be  in  the  way. 

This  Bible  agent  being  a  woman  of  much  prayer 
and  simple  faith,  as  well  as  sympathy,  her  journal 
abounds  in  encouragement,  and  her  happiness  in  her 
work  is  written  on  her  countenance.  She  has  in  four 
montlis  drawn  around  her  a  most  tliankful  class  of 
women,  some  of  them  previously  the  terror  of  their 
neighborhood.  They  are  fast  learning  "  to  pay  for 
tidy  gowns,  and  go  without  the  drink."  Many  chil- 
dren are  brought  to  school,  others  to  a  place  of  worship. 
Abuse  on  the  first  visit  has  melted  away  after  a  sec- 
ond and  a  third  ;  and  now,  i\\  street  after  street,  there 
is  not  a  house  where  she  is  '^lOt  welcome.  Here,  as  in 
Church  Lane,  and  at  Londo.;  Wall  and  in  Limehouse 
Fields,  there  are  great  and  visible  changes  in  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  persons  visited.  "  Harriet"  has,  after 
many  efforts,  penetrated  into  a  court  called  by  the 
neighbors  "  Little  Hell,"  and  deserving  the  name  for 


I 


ii  • 


I 


ESTHER   AND    HARRIET. 


287 


its  perpetration  of  every  kind  of  wickedness.     She 
found  half-naked,  filthy  children  peopling  most  wretch 
ed  rooms,  where  they  and  their  mothers  bore  evident 
marks  of  savage  treatment.     Slie  was  first  obliged  to 
listen  to  many  a  tale  of  cruelty,  and  then  she  spoke 
of  the  Message  from  God  ;  and  how,  if  they  listened 
to  that,  all  would  begin  to  mend  with  them.     Some 
"  had   Bibles,  but  never  read  them  ;"  and  it  seemed 
strange,  they  said,  that  any  one  should  care  for  such 
as  they  were.     "  They  heard  gladly  of  a  meeting  to 
get  clothing,  and  promised  to  come  to  it,  and  some 
have  kept  their  promise.     Truly  here  God's  word 
seems  as  if  it  will  not  return  unto  Him  void,  but  will 
accomplish  the  work  whereto  He  sent  it." 


I 

I 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


OUR   MORAL   WASTES    AND   THEIR    MATRONS. 


it 
11 


■ 


We  left  Marian  at  the  close  of  her  Midsummer 
F6te,  and  at  the  end  of  her  first  laborious  year,  when 
she  certainly  accomplislied  greater  tilings  in  a  certain 
space  of  time  than  by  any  of  her  sister  workers  has 
since  been  found  possible.  She  had  supplied  1000 
Bibles  and  Testaments  in  St.  Giles's  by  the  people's 
own  purchase,  chiefly  at  the  prices  of  ten  ^nee  and 
fourj^euce  ;  and  very  many  homes  in  C)  '  Lane 
testified,  by  the  clianjied  character  and  habits  of  their 
inmates,  to  the  efficacy  of  her  domestic  mission.  God 
had  greatly  honored  her  work  for  tue  sake  of  His 
Word  ;  and  now,  doubtless  in  love  to  her  own  soul.  He 
caused  that  year  of  exemplary  success  to  be  followed 
by  another  of  severe  personal  discipline.  Her  powers, 
mental  and  bodily,  liad  been  somewhat  over-taxed. 
Slie  became  alarmingly  ill,  and  was  obliged  to  leave 
her  district  for  many  weeks  ;  and  when  she  recovered, 
her  sick  and  failing  husband  claimed  the  greater  part 
of  her  time,  so  that  slie  could  visit  very  little  among 

(238) 


,; 


i 


1 1 


OUR    MOUAL    WASTES    AND   TIlEIFl    MATRONS.        2'M) 


lummcr 
r,  when 
certain 
ers  has 
>d  1000 
people's 
nee  and 
'    Lane 
of  their 
God 
of  His 
soul,  He 
followed 
powerfcj, 
er-taxed. 
to  leave 
^covered, 
ater  part 
le  among 


the  people  for  many  montlis  before  his  death,  which 
took  place  on  the  Oth  of  May,  ISiyi). 

Her  attention  had,  under  thene  circuniHtancos,  been 
divided  between  her  own  home  duties  and  a  dormitory 
for  the  water-cress  girls,  the  idea  of  which  she  had 
started,  believing  that,  if  a  ([uiet  homo  were  provided 
for  them  in  the  centre  of  their  district  in  St.  Giles's, 
they  would  immediately  embrace  the  opportunity  of 
escaping  from  their  own  over-crowded  rooms,  and 
gladly  render  the  undertaking  self-paying.  The  kind 
readers  of  the  "  Book  and  its  Missions "  listened  to 
this  sanguine  hope,  and  very  shortly  placed  within 
our  reach  the  means  for  rescuing  and  thoroughly  re- 
pairing one  of  the  worst  houses  in  Dudley-street,  fur- 
nishing and  fitting  it  for  the  nightly  occupation  of 
twenty-four  of  these  girls. 

This  was  a  pleasant  experiment,  and  one  from  which 
we  hoped  much.  It  was,  however,  as  we  found  by  ex- 
perience, easier  to  prepare  the  house  than  to  fill  it. 
The  outlay  hitherto  has  been  large,  and  the  returns 
very  small,  because  it  has  been  difficult  to  get  the 
people  to  understand  that  the  enterprise  was  intended 
to  be  self-paying.  There  were  numbers  of  destitute 
girls,  who  looked  for  food,  shelter,  and  clothing,  and 
needed  them  ;  but  this  was  not  the  design.  We  wish- 
ed to  find  twenty-four  girls  who  would  prefer  a  clean 
and  comfortable  lodging-house  for  themselves  to  the 


i' 


i 


; 


;»■•  i 


11, 


I     ! 


240 


THE   MISSIN'i   LINK. 


ordinary  mixed  and  crowded  ones,  and  be  willing  to 
pay  for  it  what  they  would  pay  elsewhere. 

The  work  is  still  experimental,  and  it  seems  more 
likely  to  be  acceptable  to  poor  sempstresses  than  to 
the  street-sellers  of  water-cresses,  who  all  say  they  are 
too  poor  to  pay  threepence  a  nig-ht  for  their  lodgi^ig:, 
if  they  give  up  Suiidaj  trading,  which  brings  them 
more  money  than  they  receive  all  the  rest  of  the  week. 
Since  needlewomen  have  been  admitted,  the  house  prom- 
ises to  fill,  and  there  are  now  fifteen  inmates,  whose 
payments  amount  to  £1  2s.  6d.  a  week.  The  annual 
rent  is  £40. 


RECEIPTS. 

£  s.  d. 
Donations  to    Dormi- 
tory       •        -          348  3  2 
People's  payments    -      8  2  0 


£366     6     2 


It  was  not  found  practicable,  when  it  came  to  be 
tried,  for  Marian  to  under ipke  the  care  of  this  dormi- 


KXPENDrrURES. 

1 

£ 

8. 

d. 

Repairs  and    gaa   fit- 

i 

tings        -        -       109 

2 

1 

Rent  paid          ■        -    30 

0 

0 

Taxes  and  rates    ■         12 

8 

9 

Furniture  and  bedding  108 

10 

2            J 

Salary,  service,  and 

Sunday  meals    -        30 

15 

0            , 

Coals,  tea-meetings. 

washing,  and  mis- 

cellaneous house 

'] 

expenses        -        -    23 

n 

8 

Balance         -        41 

11 

6 

^               £356 

6 

"^             1 

I  I 


ling  to 

IS  more 
than  to 
hey  arc 
odgiaj?, 
TS  them 
le  week, 
se  prom- 
s,  whose 
}  annual 


d. 


109 

2 

1 

30 

0 

0 

12 

8 

9 

;108 

10 

2 

30 

16 

0 

.     23 

n 

8 

41 

11 

6 

£356 

5 

2 

ime 

to 

be 

his  don 

mi- 

OUR   MORAL   WASTES   AND   THEIR   MATRONS.       241 

tory,  and  also  to  continue  her  mission  work.  They 
are  quite  separate  walks  of  usefulness,  and  she  her- 
self became  thoroughly  convinced  of  this.  We  shall, 
therefore,  ask  our  readers  to  r:visit  her  in  a  quiet 
room  of  h^r  own,  devoted  once  more  to  her  separate 
Bible  and  domestic  mission,  gladly  relinquishing  the 
anxious  care  and  guidance  of  the  dormitory  into  other 
hands,  though  she  yet  takes  a  warm  interest  in  its 
welfare ;  and  her  mission-room,  our  "  parlor  among 
the  dens,"  is  still  a  room  in  that  house. 

This  little  parlor  is  a  pleasant  and  orderly  meeting- 
ground  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  "  dens"  and  the 
"  squares,"  in  small  numbers.  Three  or  four  of  the 
upper,  and  from  thirty  to  forty  of  the  lower,  classes 
may  tliere  hold  frequent  interviews,  for  tlieir  mutual 
benefit,  jnd  during  the  last  winter  this  kind  of  confer- 
ence commenced  very  satisfactorily. 

"  Marian's  "  "  mothers" — several  of  them  reformed 
from  ungovernable  and  drunken  furies,  througli  her 
long  and  patient  Bible  visits  to  tliem  in  their  rooms — 
were  here  continually  to  be  found  on  certain  evenings 
in  the  week.  Some  bi  lught  their  work,  and  some 
their  babies,  and  having  paid  their  instalments  for 
their  clothing  or  bedding,  sat  round  the  table,  by 
the  cheerful  gas-light,  to  hear  the  Bible  story,  new  to 
them  as  to  many  of  the  lieathen  abroad  ;  or  the  dor- 
mitory itself  was  a  perpetual  ''  object  lo?;son."  as  much 
11 


■I 


(I- 


242 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


needed  as  any  taugiit  in  an  infant-school,  bringing 
before  their  eyes  (and  with  them  "  seeing  is  believ- 
ing") certain  necessary  provisions  for  cleanliness, 
health  and  propriety,  of  which  they  had  never  heard 
from  generation  to  generation.  ''  Their  mothers," 
they  said,  "  did  not  know,  so  how  could  they  teach 
better  ways  than  those  in  which  they  had  been  born  ?" 
But  they  are  very  generally  anxious  that  their  daugh- 
ters should  have  a  different  training.  We  were,  there- 
fore, in  full  communication  with  persons  who,  a  year 
before,  cared  nothing  for  the  Bible,  and  little  for  their 
homes.  Here  they  sat,  "  clothed  and  in  their  right 
mind  ;"  and  we  fervently  hope  ere  long  to  add,  "  at 
the  feet  of  Jesus."  They  still  would  have  found  it 
difiicult  to  obtain  a  loan  blanket,  for  want  of  proper 
security,  or  a  box  of  linen  in  the  hour  of  need,  because 
they  lie  in  the  stratum  of  society,  below  that  to  which 
it  has  been  considered  safe  to  afford  such  loans  ;  yet 
they  want  the  help  often  more  than  those  who  get  it. 
We  therefore  took  *'  Marian's"  word  and  knowledge 
of  them,  and  tried  the  experiment  of  lending  twenty- 
four  blankets  and  fourteen  boxes  of  linen,  "  upon  hon- 
or"— the  honor  *^  St.  Giles's.  They  have  been  re- 
turned during  this  summer,  at  the  appointed  season, 
very  creditably. 

They  are  a  class  of  people,  too,  who  hitherto  have 
not  been  trusted  \\\V\  mcdlowork,  because  no  lady 


i 


OUR   MORAL   WASTES   AND   THEIR   MATRONS.        243 


inginff 

believ- 

ftUness, 
heard 

others," 

y  teach 

born?" 

r  daugh- 

:e,  there- 

>,  a  year 

for  their 

,eir  right 

add,  "  at 

3  found  it 

of  proper 

d,  because 
to  which 

loans  ;  ye* 
ho  get  it- 
:no\vledge 
(T  twenty- 
upon  lion- 
ie  been  re- 
,ed  season, 

^erto  liave 
se  no  lady 


could  venture  to  give  them  her  ticket  of  reference  ;  so 
here  again  we  experimented  on  a  small  scale.  We 
knew  half  a  dozen  that  we  adventured  to  trust,  and 
could  put  in  their  way  a  new  help  to  a  livelihood. 
One  or  two  kind  ladies  were  found  willing  to  prepare 
garments  for  us,  and  to  come  to  our  parlor  to  give  out 
and  take  in  the  work.  With  the  shilling  the  women 
earned  by  their  sewing  they  have  often  bought  the 
article  they  had  made. 

To  our  "  parlor  among  the  dens "  is  attached  a 
KITCHEN,  where  (though  we  still  lent  saucepans)  we 
also  last  winter  made  soup,  which  was  sold  at  its  exact 
cost — one  penny  a  quart — and  was  in  great  request. 
We  hope,  another  year,  to  add  other  savory  and  cheap 
dishes  ;  and  in  the  course  of  time,  under  the  care  of  a 
lady  who  may  devote  ^orself  to  the  particular  superin- 
tendence of  this  deparLiiicut,  it  may  expand  into  laigei* 
proportions  during  the  day-ti  .  In  the  <'vening  the 
use  of  the  kitchen  must  be  limited  to  tlie  lodL'"er^'.  We 
have  every  hope  that,  as  ladies  group  themselves  in  aid 
01  special  purposes  around  a  Bible  Mi  sion-house  of 
this  kind  to  the  inhabitants  of  '*  dens,"  thcv,  or  those 
over  whom  they  have  influence,  will  not  '"  get  their 
neighbors  of  the  squares." 

There  are  many  of  the  latter  who  have  liitlicrto  been 
ignorant  of  the  details  of  the  wants  that  lie  ii round 
them.     How  should  tliey  know  that  which  they  never 


^i 


244 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


see,  and  of  which  they  never  hear  ?  Numbers  of  them, 
we  would  hope,  by  their  comfortable  firesides,  read 
and  believe  'he  Book  which  is  now  afresh  penetrating 
downwards  among  the  degraded  and  the  wretched 
classes.  Surely  they  will  speed  tiie  way  of  God's 
Word  at  home  and  abroad ! — they  will  help  the 
Bible  Society  which  sends  it  forth  ! — ay,  many 
who  never  thought  of  doing  so  before. 

"  Marian"  has  resumed  her  Bible  work — not  exactly 
as  she  formerly  did,  spending  the  whole  of  every  day 
in  her  visits  to  the  people  (her  own  abated  health 
since  her  illness,  tried  also  by  her  long  and  faithful 
attendance  on  her  husband,  has  prevented  this) — and 
another  female  visiting  eolporter  is  nominated  for  a 
large  portion  of  the  wide  district  of  St.  Giles's.  The 
influence  Marian  gained  in  the  first  year,  however, 
remains,  and  the  pence  in  her  own  now  more  limited 
district  are  in  numerous  cases  brought  to  her.  "  What 
a  heavy  load   you  have   there  on   your  head,  Mrs. 

B ! "  said  she  t>o  one  of  those  whom  she  calls  lier 

women,  and  who  v/as  carrying  a  basket  full  of  shrubs, 
not  flowers,  which  seemed  enough  to  bury  her  beneath 
their  weight.  "  You  surely  cannot  carry  that  home  ?" 
"  Oh,  yes,  I  can,  and  thank  God  for  it."  was  the  an- 
swer ;  "  and  thank  you  and  our  ladies,  who  have  made 
a  sober  woman  of  me.  I  shall  get  something  liandsome 
by  these  pots  to-morrow,  ^or  I  bought  them  at  a  good 


I 


UU'U   MORAL   WASTES   AND   THEIU   MATRONS. 


215 


them, 
,  read 
rating 
etched 
God's 

LP  THE 

,  many 

exactly 
ery  day 
I  health 
faithful 
is)— and 
ied  for  a 
?'s.    The 
however, 
e  limited 
What 
ad,  x^rs. 
calls  her 
)f  shrubs, 
beneath 
t  home  ?  " 
s  the  an- 
lave  made 
liandsome 
at  a  good 


r 


a 


market ;  and  then  I  am  coming  to  you  witli  tlio  money 
for  some  sheets  and  a  gown.  Thank  God,  too,  you're 
come  back  amongst  us.  We  are  so  glad  to  see  you. 
Thank  God,  I've  left  off  drinking."  This  case  is  by 
no  means  a  solitary  one  ;  and  what  a  contrast  to 
another  as  recent  and  as  true  1 

A  poor  girl,  having  been  out  to  the  liop-grounds 
with  her  mother,  had  earned  thirteen  shillings  of  her 
own,  and  had  wisely  expended  most  of  it  in  a  pair  of 
strong  new  boots.  Her  mother,  having  drunk  up  her 
own  earnings,  took  the  boots  to  pawn,  and  drank  their 
price  ;  and  not  only  that,  but  sold  the  pawn-ticket  for 
sixpence  more  to  drink.  What  wonder  should  a  girl 
forsake  such  a  home  and  such  a  mother?  Girls  so 
circumstanced  we  wish  to  shelter,  and  possibly  to  influ- 
ence their  mothers  through  their  means  ;  and  what- 
ever small  practical  advances  we  may  make  in  "  social 
science,"  which  is  the  study  of  the  day,  we  hope  always 
to  connect  them  with  the  Bible. 

By  the  leadings  of  God's  providence  through  her 
second  year's  experience,  "  Marian"  has  been  rendered 
willing  and  thankful  to  accept  the  help  of  ladies  in  her 
work.  She  had  always  been  most  docile  and  affection- 
ate in  all  her  intercourse  with  her  first  superintendent ; 
but  as  one  Mission  grew  out  of  another,  and  the  widely 
expanding  General  Work  absorbed  all  thought  and 
time,  it  became   necessary  to  devolve    special  local 


« 


imt 


246 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


"IB 


interests  on  other  ladies,  whom  God  raised  up  for 
different  departments.  We  have  learned  many  things 
from  our  first  experiment  in  St.  Giles's.  Because 
"  Marian"  was  in  herself  what  she  was,  and  still  is, 
she  was  listened  to,  more  than  was  strictly  prudent, 
when  she  begged  for  her  poor,  wretched  neighbors, 
during  the  first  year,  to  have  clothing  and  bedding  in 
advance,  paying  a  little,  and  promising  to  pay  the  rest. 
Then  followed  her  illness  and  absence,  and  the  ordi- 
nary autumnal  migration  of  the  people,  numbers  of 
whom  never  returned  ;  another  winter,  with,  of  course, 
its  own  daily  wants  ;  and  no  money  for  bach  debts. 
Happily  in  no  other  district  had  this  unsafe  plan  been 
followed.  Nowhere  else  have  garments  or  beds  been 
advanced  upon  trust,  and  "  Marian"  is  cured  of  answer- 
ing for  those  whose  name  is  legion.  The  whole  details 
of  the  Mission  are  now  carried  on  on  an  improved 
scale,  and  with  the  help  of  many  experiences  earned 
in  other  places. 

In  the  course  of  a  year  and  a  half,  with  all  the  draw- 
backs alluded  to,  the  people  had  paid  nearly  <£76  for 
their  clothing  and  bedding ;  but  more  than  400  beds 
had  been  supplied,  and,  on  the  whole,  a  loss  was  incur- 
red upon  them  of  over  £100.  When  fourteen 
O'Donoghues,  a  dozen  Ryans,  &c.,  with  faces  and 
voices  much  alike,  were  the  parties  in  question,  a  few 
mistakes  were  likely  to  arise  ;  but  these  are  now  strcn- 


# 


4 


M 


OUR   MORAL  WASTES   AND   THEIR   MATRONS.        247 


p  for 

things 
Bcause 

till  is, 

•udent, 

;hbors, 

ling  in 

\e  rest. 

le  ordi- 

)ers  of 

course, 

ifc  debts. 

an  been 

;ds  been 

answer- 
details 
proved 
earned 

le  draw- 
U76  for 
too  beds 
IS  incur- 
I  fourteen 
ices  and 
m,  a  few 
)W  stren- 


uously watched  against,  and  the  lady  element  of  punc- 
tuality and  perfect  order  in  tlic  accounts  being  added 
to  *'  Marian's"  good  work,  we  have  every  promise  of 
future  success.  The  "  mothers"  are  just  now  "  packing 
up  for  the  hops  once  more,  and,  casting  longing  eyes 
on  the  closet  full  of  garments  which  their  own  fingers 
have  made  and  been  paid  for,  liave  said,  '  We  shall 
carry  those  all  off,  Mrs.  B.,  when  we  come  from 
the  hops.     Be  sure  you  have  plenty  of  them  ready  for 


> )} 


us. 

"  Marian"  has  recenly  spent  a  month  in  a  fresh  visi- 
tation of  every  room  in  the  old  Church  Lane,  in  which 
there  is  a  very  marked  reformation.  Her  own  work 
has  hivd  not  a  little  to  do  with  this,  but  the  place  has 
also  come  under  the  eye  and  the  help  of  the  most  de- 
voted of  pastors  in  Mr.  Tliorold.  The  various  arrange- 
ments wliich  it  has  been  in  his  power  to  make  have  all 
liad  the  same  aim,  and  Catliolics  and  Protestants  alike 
are  blessing  his  name. 

The  south  side  of  "  the  lane  "  having  recently  come 
into  the  hands  of  the  ground  landlord,  through  tne 
falling  in  of  the  leases,  extensive  repairs  have  been  in- 
stituted. The  District  Board  of  works  have  also  ex- 
erted themselves  most  laudably  in  making  every  sani- 
tary arrangement  in  their  power. 

Mrs.  Thorold,  though  in  very  delicate  health,  has 
during  the  last  winter  taken  deep  interest  in  superin- 


■:4 


!       .1 


h 


y^ 


248 


THE    MISSJN(J    LINK. 


tendiug  the  aflairs  of  "  Ruth,"  a  second  Bible-woman, 
who  is  now  traversing  much  of  the  same  ground  on 
which  "Marian"  sold  her  first  Bibles.  That  more 
Bible  work  remained  to  be  done  is  proved  by  the 
fact  that  '"Ruth"  has  had  110  subscribers,  and  has 
still  88  on  her  list,  many  of  them  for  large  copies.  She 
has  also  a  Clothing  Club,  at  which  Mrs.  Thorold  has 
secured  the  presence  and  assistance  of  a  valuable  friend. 

As  our  plans  have  developed,  we  have  become  more 
and  more  alive  to  the  importance  of  the  influence  of  a 
superintending  lady,  or  some  lady  whom  she  may  dele- 
gate, to  the  preservation  of  right  order  in  such  rooms  ; 
for,  as  the  aim  is  to  teach  each  individual  to  work, 
it  is  impossible  for  the  Bible-woman,  at  one  and 
the  same  time,  to  render  this  important  service,  and 
also  to  preside  over  the  meeting,  and  turn  it  to  spirit- 
ual profit. 

There  is  surely  in  every  neighborhood,  if  called 
forth,  some  lady  who  would  gladly  and  regularly  give 
an  afternoon  or  evening  to  such  blessed  occupation. 
Now  and  then  a  gentleman  is  found  attending  these 
meetings,  who  has  declared  it  his  happiest  evening 
in  the  week.  We  cannot  refrain  from  inserting  a 
letter  from  the  friend  who  has  been  introduced  to  this 
service  in  '*  Ruth's''  Mission,  which  will  show  the  kind 
of  help  that  ladies  may  give  in  Female  Bible  Mis- 
sions : — 


OUR   MOUAL    WASTES   AND   THEIR   MATRONS.       249 


id  on 
more 
y  the 
1   lias 
.   She 
Id  haa 
friend. 
3  more 
le  of  a 
ty  dele- 
pooms ; 
)  work, 
le    and 
ce,  and 
spirit- 
called 
ly  give 
ipation. 
g  these 
evening 
•ting   a 
to  this 
Ihe  kind 
)le  Mis- 


"  My  DEAR  Mrs.  Tiiorold,— On  the  14th  of  April 
your  Mission  began  to  develope  itself  into  its  further 
branches  of  usefulness.  A  few  of  the  poor  mothers 
were  invited  to  take  tea  together,  and  to  commence  a 
series  of  meetings,  to  be  held  from  week  to  week,  at 
which  these  ignorant  ones  may  learn  how  to  mend  and 
make  clothing  for  themselves  and  their  families,  and 
have  the  advantage  of  buying  the  materials  at  reduced 
prices,  and  by  small  instalments. 

"  The  first  evening  was  very  wet ;  yet  the  prospect 
of  tea  and  the  novelty  of  the  occasion  brought  seven 
out  of  the  twelve  guests  invited,  an^  any  one  who 
could  have  looked  into  that  small  ofck  room  about 
six  o'clock  would  have  been  pleased  to  see  the  women 
gather  round  the  plentifully-spread  table. 

•*  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  kind  of  people  to 
be  assembled  at  these  meetings,  when  it  is  mentioned 
that  one  woman  came  late  because  slie  had  to  borrow 
the  gown  of  her  sister,  and  was  compelled  to  wait  not 
only  till  her  sister  came  in,  but  until  the  one  gown  had 
been  partially  dried  from  the  afternoon's  rain.  An- 
other could  not  come  at  all  that  first  evening,  because 
she  had  been  wet  through,  and  had  nothing  to  change. 
The  attendance  has,  since  that  day,  been  gradually 
increasing,  and  we  now  number  some  twenty-six  mem- 
bers. 

"  But  while  it  is  of  incalculable  service  to  give  them 

n* 


250 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


the  means  of  procuring  decent  clothing,  and  to  lead 
them  to  more  industrious  and  thrifty  habits  ;  to  show 
them  that  we  are  interested  in  their  welfare,  and  sym- 
pathize in  their  trials — this  ii'  not  our  chief  aim.  That 
is  to  teach  them  the  ever  sweet  and  ever  new,  though 
to  us  familiar  lesson,  that  God  loves  them,  that  Christ 
died  for  ^/<em,  and  that  He  rose  again  to  plead  for  tliem, 
and  from  His  throne  of  glory  ever  watches  over  their 
sorrows  and  their  interests.* 

"  The  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  women  brought 
to  Ruth's '  meeting  made  it  seem  wisest  that  instruc- 
tion should  at  first  be  conveyed  by  conversation  rather 
than  by  reading.  I  have,  therefore,  narrated  in  simple 
and  often  scriptural  language  one  of  the  beautiful  his- 
tories of  God's  Word,  leading  our  poor  friends  to  draw 
from  it  such  holy  lessons  as  may  be  applied  to  their 
daily  practice. 

"  I  have  been  struck  with  the  superior  power  of 
God's  stories  over  any  others,  and  I  believe  most 
people  would  be  surprised  to  note  the  thrilling  inter- 
est with  which  they   are  listened   to.      If  any  one 


**  For  a  specimen  of  the  matured  development  of  the  work  at  which 
we  are  aiming  in  our  Female  domestic  Missions,  we  beg  to  refer  our 
readers  to  a  very  pleasant  volume  recently  published,  called  "  Ragged 
Homes,  and  how  to  Mend  them."  J.  Nisbet,  Berners  Street.  Price 
:<s.  Gd.  It  is  the  record  of  the  practical  work  of  a  lady  who  has  a  deep 
and  genuine  sympathy  with  poor  mothers,  and  whose  book  will  do  much 
to  communicate  that  sympathy  to  other  minds. 


\ 


OUR   MORAL   WASTES   AND   THEIR   MATRONS.       251 


TOY    of 

most 
intev- 
ly  one 

I  at  which 
jrefer  our 

"Bagged 
k.     Price 

laa  a  deep 
|l  do  much 


wislica  to  learn  the  present  ignorance  of  onr  lowest 
poor  concerning  the  Scrij)ture8,  he  should  sit  down  in 
sucli  small  mission-room,  and  listen  to  the  remarks  of 
some  of  the  most  decent  and  respectable  among  our 
mothers.  *  Oh,  ma'am,  please  don't  stop  just  there  1 
1  so  want  to  hear.  Was  the  poor  rhild  (Benjamin) 
punished  for  stealing  that  cup  he  never  touched  ? 
How  hard!'  Or  another  day,  '  Do,  pray,  go  on.  I 
liope  those  frightful  great  beasts  (the  crocodiles)  did 
not  eat  the  baby  '  (Moses).  Sometimes  one  has  said, 
*  J  do  think  our  lady  knows  everything.  Edication  is 
a  grand  thing,  but  it  seems  she's  got  it  most  all  from 
the  \Vi\)\c.  How  she  must  read  it,  to  have  it  so  ready 
like  !  I'm  going  to  get  one  soon.  I've  paid  fourpence, 
to-dav.' 

"  Kach  meeting  closes  with  prayer  ;  and  when  it  is 
remembered  that  some,  probably,  had  never  knelt  be- 
fore to  ask  from  a  God  of  love  the  blessings  that  they 
need,  do  I  think  this  bending  with  them  in  worship  is  no 
small  matter,  and  we  may  feel  assured  that  in  the  com- 
ing day  it  will  be  found  that  a  prayer-hearing  God  has 
blessed  and  owned  even  these  feeble  efforts  to  win  the 
prayerless  to  the  love  of  His  Christ. 

"  I  purposely  avoid  describing  scenes  of  want, 
miserv.  and  sin,  which  I  have  visited  at  Ruth's  re- 
quest,  and  as  arising  out  of  these  meetings.  ^lore 
than  onco  or  twice  I  have  stood  in  the  midst  of  such 


f 


252 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


hopelessly  wretched  rooms,  that  wlieii  1  lie  down  at 
night  I  have  found  it  utterly  impossible  to  forget  the 
scenes  ;  yet  I  have  found,  in  more  than  one  instance, 
that  somebody  coming  with  loving,  gentle  words, 
simply  to  speuk  to  them,  without  giving  any  relief, 
lias  roused  them  from  the  inertia  of  despair. 

"  They  are  often  dirty,  untidy,  and  careless,  because 
in  their  crowded  space  they  feel,  do  what  they  may, 
tliey  cannot  be  othewise.  Then  they  say,  '  We're 
used  to  such  ways  :  what's  the  good  of  changing 
them  ?  No  one  comes  to  see  us,  and  we  don't  care. 
If  we'd  known  now  you  was  a  coming,  we'd  ha'  made 
filings  a  bit  straight.'  " 

But  there  is  a  district  worse  than  Ruth's,  which  may 
truly  be  called  the  St.  Giles's  of  St.  Giles's,  to  which 
the  refuse  of  the  community  were  drafted  when  thu 
new  streets  were  built :  it  is  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Drury  Lane — an<l  here  "  Miriam,"  who  is  an  offshoot 
from  the  happy  and  reformed  community  gathered 
together  by  Mr.  Allen,  the  good  Scripture-reader  at 
Westminster,  has  paid  visits  scarcely  describable. 
The  colporter  Shaw  introduced  her  to  her  work. 
These  are  the  dominions  of  "  the  children  of  the 
night,"  and  at  eleven  in  the  morning  many  were 
asleep.  The  dirt  and  the  stenches  were  hardly  to  be 
borne.  Lodging-rooms  were  entered,  bare  of  all  fur- 
niture, in  which  were  found  twenty  or  thirty  men, 


OUR   MOKAL   WASTES   AND   THEIK   MATRONS.        '25',\ 


'n  at 

t  the 
iance, 
rords, 
relief, 

jcauso 
'  may, 
We're 
inging 
t  care. 
l'  made 


Kome  sitting,  some  standing,  many  lying  on  the  floor  ; 
some  flinging,  some  smoking — all  idle — and  sonic  say- 
ing tliey  liad  h*il  notliing  to  cat  for  tlircc  days  ;  all  in 
rags,  mostly  Irishmen,  who  refused  "  Luther's  book," 
or  "  King  Henry  tJ/e  Eighth's  book,"  and  said  they 
would  "  turn  their  backs  on  their  holy  religion  for 
nobody."  Others,  poor  English  people,  declared  they 
would  get  out  of  the  street  as  soon  as  they  could,  and 
they  thought  perhaps  the  Bible  might  begin  to  mend 
them.  As  to  the  vocation  of  the  community,  they 
were  street  folk,  flower  and  brush-makers,  sellers  of 
hare  and  cat  skins,  and  heaps  of  the  latter  we  walked 
over  in  getting  into  their  rooms. 

"  When  the  ofifer  of  the  Bible  did  not  find  entrance, 
the  mention  of  clothing  did.  Very  Rad  was  the  page 
of  human  life  we  turned  this  day,"  says  Shaw  ;  "  wo 
walked  in  the  midst  of  consumption  and  fever — of 
those  here  to-day  and  gone  to-morrow.  We  could 
scarcely  get  through  one  long  street,  inhabited  by 
sorters  of  onions  and  oranges,  for  the  orange  peels 
and  the  cabbage  leaves.  In  few  rooms  did  we  see 
a  bed,  but  this  good  woman  will  get  into  many  a  place 
where  a  man  cannot ;  and  the  fruit  of  our  labors  is 
already,  in  this  direction,  twenty-one  Bible  subscibers." 

Miriam,  after  a  month  or  two  of  work,  found  en- 
trance and  acceptance  among  the  most  wretched  and 
reckless  :  she  has  thirty-eight  subscribers  for  Bibles, 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


and  a  mission-room  in  Bloomsbury  already  well  at- 
tended .  The  expenses  of  her  domestic  mission  are 
cared  for  by  the  hand  of  private  benevolence,  which 
will  be  far  less  likely  to  be  pierced  by  the  thorns  of 
ingratitude,  in  employing  this  intermediate  class  of 
agency,  than  in  bestowing  money,  to  ten-fold  the 
amount,  in  gift  to  those  who  sought  relief  at  its  own 
door.  The  poor  only  really  bless  those  who  help  them 
to  help  themselves. 


^1 


I 


¥ 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


WESTMINSTER  AND   ITS   BIBLE-WOMEN. 


"  Rachel,"  in  Newport  Market,  is  traversing  the 
ground  extending  from  Leicester  square  to  St.  Giles's, 
and  embracing  Crown  street,  Solio,  with  its  sundry- 
courts,  where  Marian  first  began.  About  five  hundred 
of  the  families  resident  on  this  district  are  visitable, 
and  of  this  number  at  least  one  hundred  are  Roman- 
ist, and  a  great  many  infidel.  About  fifty  of  them  ad- 
mit that  they  are  without  Bibles,  and  have  no  desire 
to  possess  them.  Persons  who  say  they  have  them 
very  frequently  cannot  produce  them,  and  the  homes 
where  the  precious  book  is  p?'ofessedly  read,  or  wliere 
the  people  attend  any  place  of  worship,  are  lamentably 
few.  At  a  meeting  for  exposition  of  the  Scriptures 
and  prayer  on  Sabbath  evenings  which  is  held  here, 
and  often  conducted  by  Captain  Trotter,  about  forty 
attend  ;  and  the  numbers  will  doubtless  increase,  a^^ 
the  attention  of  the  people  is  called  to  it  by  visitation 

from  room  to  room. 

[266] 


256 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


I 


«. 


The  employment  of  the  majority  of  women  in  the 
district  is  army  clothing  work,  artificial  flower-making, 
and  shoe  binding;  and  their  absorption  in  these  trades 
induces  a  state  of  careless  indifference  as  to  cleanli- 
ness, both  of  their  persons  and  homes.  When  they 
are  without  work,  idleness  and  gossip,  combined  with 
drinking,  engross  their  time,  and  produce  a  state  of 
things  most  difficult  for  the  Bible- woman  or  Missionary 
to  change  for  tht  better.  On  advising  that  a  room 
should  be  cleaned,  Rachel  has  more  than  once  been 
told  that  the  walls  and  ceiling  have  not  been  touched 
for  years — one  for  nine  years.  Another  woman  has 
said,  "  I  do  not  know  how  to  clean  a  room  ;  it  would 
be  as  easy  for  you  to  make  my  artificial  flowers.  I 
have  never  been  taught  to  do  it."  Another,  on  whose 
table  dirty  linen  was  lying,  said,  "  I  do  not  know  how 
to  get  it  clean,  so  I  have  bought  a  new  pair  of  stock- 
ings for  my  son  ;"  and  on  Rachel  telling  her  how 
they  might  be  washed,  she  said,  "  I  sliould  nev^er  be 
able  to  do  that,  I  know."  This,  of  course,  lias  been 
followed  up  by  showing  her  the  process  at  another  time. 

Many  of  the  families  are  extremely  destitute  of 
clothing.  One  man  had  no  clothes  left  to  attend  a 
place  of  worship,  and  had  worn  his  shirt  a  month 
since  it  had  been  washed.  He  was  afraid  to  take  it 
ofi",  lest  it  should  fall  to  pieces.  A  mothers'  meeting 
has  just  been  established  to  teach  them  to  mend  their 


WESTMINSTER  AND   ITS   BIBLE- WOMEN. 


257 


.  the 

rades 

3aiili- 
they 

i  with 

ite  of 

onary 
room 

e  been 

ouclied 

an  has 

1  would 

ers.    I 

.  whose 

)W  how 
stock- 
er  how 
?,ver  be 
,s  been 
|er  time. 
Ituie  of 
.ttend  a 
month 
take  it 
leeting 
id  their 


clothes.  In  twenty  rooms  in  P Row,  thickly  in- 
habited, no  pretensions  ,  'ore  made  to  anything  in  the 
shape  of  a  bed,  not  even  shavings  or  straw.  Seven 
persons  have  begun  to  subscribe  for  cheap  beds ; 
otliers  pleaded  extreme  poverty,  which  is  the  natural 
fruit  of  the  drunkenness  which  so  awfully  prevails, 
both  among  men  and  women.  The  district  rivals  St. 
Giles's  in  its  need  of  the  simplest  cooking  utensils. 
"  Rachel"  has  lent  her  own  cotton  gown  to  one  woman 
three  or  four  times  (she  always  brings  it  back  clean), 
to  enable  her  to  attend  a  Sunday  evening  service  and 
Bible-class. 

The  City  Missionaries  occupied  Westminster  al- 
most earlier  than  any  other  section  of  the  metropolis, 
because  it  was  known  to  be  so  "  notorious  for  crime, 
poverty,  and  degradation."  Bad  as  Old  Pye  street. 
Orchard  street,  &c.,  may  be  now,  they  were  far  worse 
twenty  years  ago. 

Truly  earnest  and  devoted  clergymen  in  many  such 
districts  are  being  made  willing  that  all  kinds  of 
agency  for  good  should  be  concentrated  upon  them. 
No  one  mind,  with  the  most  perfect  apparatus  at  its 
command,  could  compass  all  the  spiritual  and  temporal 
needs  of  the  lowest  haunts  of  either  St.  Giles's  or 
Westminster.  The  agency  that  most  speedily  serves 
and  helps  all  present  organization  is  the  Bible- 
woman's  steady  daily  ministration  in  and  out  among 


258 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


the  "  dens,"  so  necessary  even  in  aid  of  the  two  or 
three  hours  of  weekly  visiting  which  a  lady  can  be 
expected  to  give,  and  which  are  all  she  probably  ouyht 
to  give,  from  the  claims  of  her  own  home  and  circle. 
A  month's  experiment  will  tell  on  attendance  at 
schools  and  on  public  worship,  and  will  generally 
secure  the  glad  reception  of  the  after  visits  of  the 
Pastor,  the  Scripture  Reader,  or  the  City  Missionary. 

Colporter  Waye,  who  has  succeeded  Shaw  in  Lon- 
don service,  has  made  a  thorough  canvass  of  the  lower 
parts  of  Westminster  for  Bible  work. 

The  old  Pye  street  district  of  Westminster  affords 
a  happy  specimen  cf  a  vigorous  and  re-formed  Ladies' 
Association  for  the  Bible  Society,  working  in  con- 
junction with  the  Poor  Woman's  paid  agency,  and 
feeling  that  it  is  a  most  useful  adjunct.  "  Were  her 
labors  withdrawn,"  they  say,  '•  the  association  would 
suffer."  She  has  sold  in  nine  months  171  copies  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  has  41  subscribers  on  her  books. 
The  voluntary  collectors  have  sold  in  the  same  space 
of  time  X67  worth  of  books,  and  obtained  £28  in  free 
contributions,  so  that  the  immediate  district  is  sown 
afresh  with  the  seed  of  the  Word.  The  ladies  con- 
tinue very  active,  and  hope  to  arouse  the  attention  of 
all  around  tliem  to  tlie  duty  and  privilege  of  aiding  in 
the  circulation  of  God's  Holy  Book  through  the  world. 

Charlotte  say?,  "  The  number  of  my  subscribers  on 


WESTMINSTER   AND   ITS   BIBLE-WOMEN. 


259 


¥0  or 

an  be 
onyht 
circle, 
ice  at 
lerally 
of  tlie 
}nary. 
in  Lon- 
}  lower 

affords 
Ladies' 
in  con- 
ey, and 
ere  lier 
would 
3pies  of 
books, 
ne  space 
in  free 
is  sown 
ies  con- 
ntion  of 
iding  in 
e  world, 
ibers  on 


\ 


li 


the  book  has  increased  to  about  150.  I  find  a  great 
many  go  to  some  place  of  worship,  and  1  do  liopo,  as 
religion  increases  among  them,  that  cleanliness  will 
Increase  also.  They  are  very  anxious  to  get  beds  and 
blankets  for  tliemselves  and  tlieir  children  before  tlio 
cold  weather  comes,  and  they  are  abnost  ready  to 
force  the  subscriptions  upon  me  ;  but  I  tell  thorn  they 
must  wait  a  little  till  the  ladies  come  homo  to  arrange 
it.  I  do  earnestly  pray  that  those  to  whom  God  has 
given  much  of  this  world's  wealth  may  lielp  this  effort 
in  Westminster ;  and  I  pray  God  to  bless  me  in  my 
humble  part  of  the  work,  that  I  may  do  it  according 
to  His  will,  not  for  the  remuneration  I  receive,  but 
knowing  that  He  sees  me  in  my  walks." 

It  is  declared,  and  too  truly,  tiiat  a  less  vivid  sym- 
pathy is  now  shown  in  the  London  districts  than  in 
othor  parts  of  tlie  country,  towards  the  great  and  all- 
important  object  of  supplying  the  Bible  to  the  world. 
People  are  fully  aware  that  it  is  important,  and  de- 
serving of  everybody's  help  ;  but  very  few  will  spare 
time  to  consider  how  they  individually  can  help  it. 
Yet  opportunities  will  be  evident  to  those  who  seek 
them.  While,  in  what  are  called  the  "  back  slums." 
the  well-chosen  poor  woman  penotratos,  undor  the 
blessing  and  protection  of  God,  with  His  Word  in  hor 
hand,  up  the  dark,  filthy  staircase,  braving  rebuke  and 
jest,  and  sometimes  threats,  from  those  whom  lior  quiet 


>l 


WM 


f 


I 


i 


260 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


mission  will  perhaps  conquer  after  all — ladies,  with 
the  love  of  the  Word  shed  abroad  in  their  hearts,  will, 
in  many  an  individual  case  among  the  poor,  give  effec- 
tual aid  to  tlie  female  colporter  (we  do  not  here  speai: 
of  her  one  personal  iady  superintendent  alone),  and 
perhaps  elicit,  by  well-bestowed  inventive  effort,  the 
sympathies  of  persons  in  their  oiun  class,  which  now  lie 
dormant.  What  object  can  be  so  high  as  to  spread 
abroad  tlie  wonderful  Word  of  the  Lord,  first  and 
perpetually  in  our  own  ever-changing  neighborhoods, 
and  then  to  the  wide  world?  Can  we  contemplate 
with  delight  communities  of  Bible-readers  in  Italy,  and 
among  the  simple  Karens,  and  not  arise  and  make  use 
of  the  same  "  Sword  of  the  Spirit"  among  our  own  poor 
population  ?  It  is  this  alone  that  will  cope  with  the 
advancing  hosts  of  Rome. 

We  could,  if  space  allowed  us,  extend  our  researches 
with  an  "  Elizabeth"  into  Chelsea,  and,  crossing  the 
river,  find  much  to  interest  us  with  Phoebe  in  the  New 
Cut,  and  Dorothy  in  Walworth  ;  but  we  have  only 
time  to  revisit  "  Martha "  in  Paddington,  and  to  ob- 
serve the  Cottage  among  the  Dust-heaps,  referring  the 
reader?,  wlio  shall  not  have  been  wearied  by  our  sim- 
ple life-sketches,  for  further  and  future  detail  to  the 
little  "  Book  and  its  Missions,"  a  threepenny  monthly 
periodical,  which  may  be  had  of  all  booksellers,  and 
whose  title  bespeaks  its  subject. 


with 
will, 
effcc- 
spea;: 
,  find 
t,  the 
)w  lie 
pread 
t  and 
iioods, 
nplate 
y,  and 
,ke  use 
n  poor 
ith  the 

jarches 
Lg  the 

[e  New 
only 
to  ob- 
ig  the 
ir  sim- 
Ito  the 
[onthly 
:s,  and 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE   COTTAGE   AMONG   THE   DU8T-HBAPS. 

After  a  year's  experience  of  the  influence  of  a 
"Female  Bible  and  Domestic  Mission"  among  the 
Dust-heaps,  tliose  who  liave  guided  and  assisted  "  Mar- 
tha" are  in  a  position  to  speak  very  hopefully  and 
favorably  of  its  general  results. 

It  was  thought  desirable  to  take  a  cottage  opposite 
one  of  the  dust-yards,  an  upper  room  of  which  miglit 
be  tenanted  by  "  Martha,"  while  on  the  lower  floor 
another  could  be  used  for  the  bedding  material,  and 
for  the  women's  weekly  working  meetings,  and  a  third 
as  a  self-paying  soup  kitchen,  and  as  a  place  of  shelter 
and  refreshment  for  the  dust-people  during  their  mid- 
day hour  of  rest. 

During  that  hour  hitherto  they  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  take  their  meal,  as  the  weather  might  be  wet 
or  dry,  in  the  open  air  or  under  shelter  of  a  cart ;  to 
make  a  fire  of  the  cinders,  which  might  serve  half  a 
dozen  of  them  ;  and  prepare  their  coff'ee  and  red  her- 
ring, varied  by  bread,  cheese,  beer,  or  gin,  according 

(261) 


nl 


262 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


to  their  taste ;  and  very  bad  language  is  often  used 
among  them  during  this  time  of  recess  from  their  work. 

In  the  cottage  "  no  slang  is  permitted,"  and  the  im- 
provement olYercd  in  their  diet  consists  in  a  basin  of 
good  soup  from  "  Martha's"  copper,  so  good  that  it  is 
declared,  "  This  here  is  worth  more  than  two  pots  of 
beer."  The  payment  is  three  half-pence  a  quart,  in- 
cluding bread,  and  the  meal  is  taken  on  a  table  cov- 
ered with  interesting  papers  and  tracts.  The  nourish- 
ing soup  will  really,  it  is  hoped,  wean  them  from  the 
use  of  stimulants.  Eighteen  persons  are  now  fre- 
quently numbered  at  dinner.  A  dustman  dropped  in 
one  day,  and  as  the  City  Missionary,  who  is  frequently 
present,  rose  to  go,  the  apparently  rough,  uncouth  fel- 
low cried  out,  "  Don't  go  ;  I  like  to  hear  you  read. 
If  you'll  sell  a  little  spelling-book  I'll  buy  it,  and  I'll 
buy  a  large  Bible." 

Since  the  26th  of  January,  1857,  "  Martha  "  has  de- 
livered one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  Bibles  and  thirty 
Testaments,  and  her  work  of  colportage  among  the 
people  seems  to  have  aroused  in  many  of  them  a  desire 
to  learn  to  read,  to  meet  which  a  lady,  whose  peculiar 
vocation  seems  to  be  the  teaching  of  adults,  has  kindly 
offered  them  the  opportunity,  and  several  have  em- 
braced it  gladly. 

As  "  Martha  "  now  finds  the  district  nearest  to  her 
home  fairly  supplied  with  the  Scriptures,  it  is  proposed 


.^St[ 


THE   COTTAGE   AMONG  THE   DUST-HEAPS. 


263 


used 
work. 
,lie  im- 
isin  of 
at  it  is 
f)OtS  of 
lart,  in- 
)le  cov- 
[lourish- 
rom  the 
LOW  fre- 
jpped  in 
equently 
joutli  fel-    , 
ou  read. 
,,  and  I'll 

I"  lias  de- 
id  thirty 
long  the 
a  desire 
peculiar 
IS  kindly 
lave  em- 

Ist  to  her 

[proposed 


I 


that  a  certain  portion  of  her  time  should  be  employed 
for  the  purpose  of  colportage  in  an  adjacent  local- 
ity in  Lisson  Grove,  "  the  St.  Giles's  of  tlie  West," 
another  section  of  the  Dust-heap  region.  An  excel- 
lent city  missionary  devotes  his  whole  time  and  ener- 
gies to  diflfuse  the  true  light  througli  tliose  dusky 
abodes ;  but  he  has  often  declared  his  want  of  women's 
help,  and  rejoices  now  to  welcome  it. 

Here  is  another  district  of  "  dens,"  the  dominions 
of  laundresses,  scavengers,  lamp-lighters,  match-ma- 
kers, "  patterers,"  "  utterers,"  "  translators,"  and  coster- 
mongers  in  ordinary.  Let  the  Cliristians  of  London 
go  and  look  at  them,  in  their  Sunday-morning  markets 
for  birds  and  rabbits,  of  a  far  lower  grade  than  that 
in  Great  St.  Andrew's  street,  Seven  Dials.  It  might, 
last  year,  after  "  Boxing-day,"  have  been  seen  in  all 
its  frightful  perfection,  when  the  missionary  could 
scarcely  find  his  way  among  the  streets  for  a  fortnight, 
for  the  scenes  of  drunkenness  and  depravity. 

The  air  echoes  alike  to  the  brawl  of  the  swearer  and 
the  cries  of  "  boot-laces,"  "  pipes,"  "  'tatoes,"  and 
"greens;"  butchers  roaring,  "Buy,  buy,  buy,  4  lbs. 
for  2d.,"  but  of  meat  in  what  condition  !  while  poultry 
is  vended  in  all  states  of  poisonous  decay.  Dri  ^'e 
men  crowd  the  pathway,  tossing  up  their  halfpence 
till  they  have  gambled  away  their  jackets,  and  even 
their  donkeys,   ou   which   their   livelihood    depends. 


26i 


THE   MISSINU    LINK. 


The  heart  sickens  at  flic  sight  of  degraded  lads  and 
girls,  lost  to  every  sense  of  decency  ;  and  one  can  only 
ask,  Where  were  these  brought  up,  and  whence  do  they 
Hwarm  forth,  to  mock  the  God  of  heaven,  and  dchle 
the  air  they  breathe  ? 

Whence  ?  Let  those  who  know  them  lead  you  to 
their  homes,  or,  truly,  their  "  dens," — back  kitchens, 
eight  feet  square,  with  broken  floor  and  window, 
where  the  mother,  drunk,  sits  on  an  old  tin  kettle  in 
the  midst ;  she  has  on  one  garment  and  a  tattered 
shawl,  but  her  baby  has  nothing  ;  and  a  three-year-old 
child,  crippled  by  a  fall  from  a  chair,  and  with  one 
eye  cut  out,  has  v  hing ; — or  to  rooms  where  each 
corner  has  its  family,  and  where  one  lies  dying  of 
starvation  and  another  of  small-pox.  Such  is  the 
close  of  life  to  thousands  in  London.  City  mission- 
aries and  Scripture-readers  know  it ;  medical  men 
know  it ;  the  clergy  know  it ;  but  the  gulf  of  misery 
is  immeasurable,  and  it  is  given  up  in  despair.  Tliese 
homes  make  these  people  generation  after  generation. 

Would  it  have  been  thus  if  tJie  Christian  women 
of  London  had  long  ere  this  found  their  true  mission, 
and  fulfilled  it  ?  Mothers  make  homes,  and  mothers 
make  "  dens."  Women  like  "  Martha  P."  might  be 
sought  out  in  every  street,  and,  like  salt  in  the  cor- 
rupting mass,  be  used  to  purify  it.  In  a  few  weeks 
the  work  this  agent  has  to  do  is  visible.     She  brings 


THE   roTTAdE    AMONG   T!IE    DUST-HEAPS. 


2(\r) 


' 


ids  and 
lan  only 
do  t\icy 
.d  dctilo 

I  you  to 
kitclicns, 
window, 
kettle  in 
,  tattered 
e-year-old 
.  with  one 
here  eaeli 
dyins  of 
ucli  is  the 
|ty  mission- 
idical  men 
of  misery 
U-.    These 
eneration. 
an  WOMEN 
lie  mission, 
d  motherrt 
might  be 
in  the  cor- 
few  weeks 
he  brings 


the  people  a  Book,  and  says  "  it  comes  from  God,"  and 
that  it  is  "  full  of  the  words  of  Jesus."  She  quotes 
some  of  tliose  words  to  thon,  and  tliey  prove  like  tlio 
"  two-'Ml^ed  sword,'' — tliey  recall  dim  memories  of  a 
pious  mother  or  of  a  Sunday-scliool.  Slie  tells  them 
they  may  get  the  Book — tliat  tliey  may  get  clothing — 
that  they  may  get  beds — that  they  may  make  a  home  out 
of  a  "  den."  She  is  one  of  themselves,  and,  God  blessing 
her,  she  is  the  most  powerful  instrument  for  recover- 
ing the  recoverable.  Once  more,  0  Christians  of 
Loudon,  let  us  find  out  such  women,  and  employ  them. 

Martha  paid  a  long  series  of  visits  to  the  liouse  of  a 
rat-catcher,  whose  wife  was  subscribing  for  a  Bible. 
It  is  a  terrible  place  ;  lialf  the  room  is  occupied  by  a 
rat-pit :  the  creatures  are  caught  'n  the  sewers,  and 
Hold  to  be  hunted  l)y  dogs.  Sometimes  their  teeth  are 
mercilessly  broken  out  with  pincers  by  the  vendors, 
which  is  called  "  taking  out  the  sting." 

*' '  We  have  not  any  to-day,  sir,'  said  the  woman  to 
a  customer,  while  Martha  was  waiting.  '  Yesterday,' 
she  added,  turning  to  Martlm, '  we  sold  two,  and  bought 
a  quartern  loaf.  We  should  be  glad  to  leave  the 
trade  if  we  could  get  anything  else  to  do.' 

"  This  i)Oor  woman  seemed  a  broken-spirited  crea- 
ture, who  had,  liowever,  been  brought  up  in  a  Sabbatli- 
Bchool.     Slie  appeared  comforted  by  a  kind  word  ;  and 
she  could  read,  when  her  husband  could  not." 
18 


266 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


"  Mo8t  of  tlie  subscribers,"  says  the  superintendent 
of  this  district,  more  recently,  "  are  now  beginnin<!^  to 
make  a  clean  and  tidy  appearance.  Even  the  rat- 
catcher's wife  attends  the  meetings  regularly,  and  her 
circumstances  are  greatly  improved.  Here  was  as 
iiopeless  a  case  as  could  well  be  imagined,  and  often 
has  Martha  sighed  with  me  over  the  apparent  impossi- 
bility of  raising  this  family  from  their  misery  and 
degradation.  Yet  the  result  of  her  labor  of  love  is 
manifest.  I  might  mention  many  others,  but  it  is  not 
wise  to  individualize  more  than  is  needful  in  order  to 
represent  the  mode  of  working.  Martha  has  always 
been  herself  a  managing,  provident  woman,  and  she 
now  very  frequently  succeeds  in  persuading  her  neigh- 
bors to  refrain  from  pawning  their  things  as  long  as 
possible.  It  is  otherwise  a  habit  they  indulge  in  on 
tlie  slightest  pressure  of  want.  I  beg  to  offer  a  few 
words  of  sincere  acknowledgment  to  all  the  kind 
friends  who  have  combined  this  year  to  raise  this 
Mission.  Ladies  residing  far  from  London  have 
helped  me  with  the  beautiful  work  of  their  hands,  for 
sale  on  its  account.  There  are  many  elegant  forms 
of  usefulness  in  this  department,  whereby  the  drawing- 
room  may  let  fall  crumbs  of  comfort  into  the  den.  In 
this  way  £20  has  been  added  to  our  funds,  while  the 
tradespeople  concerned  in  our  expenditure  have  all 
most  generously  assisted  by  casting  every  advantage 


] 


THE   COTTAGE   AMONG   THE   DUST-ilEAPS.  207 

of  purc'liaso  into  the  scale  of  tlic  xMisslon.  1  trust  yet 
to  be  sii.stuined  by  the  prayers  of  all  contributors,  that 
the  Word  of  God  may  still  further  have  free  course, 
and  be  glorified,  in  this  and  all  other  dark  and  desti- 
tute districts  around  us." 

We  may  add  that  Martha  has  a  sister  Jane,  as  well 
fitted  for  the  work  as  herself,  and  that  she  also  is  em- 
I>loyed  in  Lisson  Grove,  under  the  care  of  another 
lady. 


n-,i 


I 


it  ^i 


>i 


CHAPTER  XX. 


A  PAGE   OP  FIGUEES   FOB  BIBLE   SOCIETY  SUBSCRIBERS. 


I  K 

I 


The  friends  of  Bible  distribution  will  probably  bo 
interested  in  observing  the  results  of  two  years'  experi- 
ment of  a  Paid  Female  Agency  in  the  lowest  districts 
of  London.  During  the  year  185V-8,  comparatively 
lew  Bible-women  were  engaged,  but  their  numbers 
now  are  considerably  multiplied.  The  annexed  tab- 
ula; statement  shows  the  totals,  up  to  a  given  date,  of 
ffiri'iey  paid  to  them  as  salary  by  the  Bible  Society,  and 
receivtfd  by  them  for  Bibles,  as  well  as  the  amount  of 
th.'flr  sales  of  books. 

The  history  of  this  Table  is  an  interesting  one.  We 
must  first  look  back  for  a  moment  to  an  original  grant 
from  tlic  Bible  Society  of  £5,  made  in  June,  1857,  and 
expended  o.i  one  Bible-woman  in  St.  Giles's  (Marian), 
at  tlio  rate  of  ten  shillings  a  week,  in  payment  of  tlie 


A 


FIGURES  FOR  BIBLE  SOCIETY  SUBSCRIBERS.       269 


sr 


S  S 


c 

Pi 

-•  n 


^ 


3 
•     »-* 


o 

p 
a 


GC 


!2! 


i^t 


b 


b 


Postal 
District 


i 


©ft" 

=  2, 
5* 


o 
r 


®  1-1  • 


V-  ~  -C  63  S!  O 


•   a-cs  2  »  5  l_,m>hmS  ^ 
i-  — —  3  ^  iCDOCo  -1 

O   "  ■?•  r/i   5    1'   o   c   a    3   «    — ■ 


gCR  o  2  B  ts 


2.oq 

!^2 


rnr/i 
•ax: 


^'.: 


3  ^ 

•n>  CCS- 
ft  (P 


-5 

©  (6 

C   I. 

"^    :« 

B.D-2. 


w  O 


j  Weeks  at  work, 


Salary  to 
Blble-^^oinen. 


03 
-4 


10  to  1-'  w  to  i* -*       t« 

<3>w>-«4i.-^*»tncwas-^  —  i-i((k^(-iww<e)(k«>-£-jo»i-'»«05 

o  ~  o  e  a>  ~  08  OS  oogoog'  sooco  ~C'~oo-?'sooe>efi' 

i*»--i.    o»-4os*.i-i.toto«-<.    .    ,— -4.    *.to--<>-'i-'03«oo4s,'cc-«c>5    j  Bums  paui  in 

i_i  M  i-i     tJ.        .*   by  Women  for 


»*  rj '.    —  to  !0  «5  w  c  -  cc  '. 


0001         O  >-»-»  tdl-i©  tn  0-I04  W  CJ 


►-tC-     CCOStOtCCnl-'        05 


to 


SI  !•-  •   to  4k  lU.  i(^  00  l-i  l-i  ep 

Oi  ~   05  ii  «o  -J  -<  or  to  0  • 


to 


>-  on  to-      CnX-l-<OSMtOlC 

«o  ■    i6>-^     w i-i *> I* 00 S i-i I-* «e 


if* 

I 


llbles. 


to-  i-»  Cni-JK,tc^lO 

kOif^-     t»>tiife_l-il-itO«C  —  qslO- 
"^    1    Testa- 
ments. 


to*>  •    tooocw  , 

W-*     o  ©&00O0SOC  i  I-' toe 


•^  to 

"    GO  OC*k  -I 


o 

o 
n' 


to- 


Tolal. 


f»0  tC  -'  '-'  OB 
ffi  tc  *•  C»  -I      , 
_  _  ©05  WW  10^      I  

.    ^  I  Present  No.  of 

5t     8feg^fe8Bg^ggggg-   SiSgggg§g§*2S3        Subscribers- 


O 

o 
o 
a 


I— ( 
<) 

W 

M 

3 

td 
53 

n 

H 

CO 

O 

O 

a 


00 


QO 


270 


THE   MISSING   LIXK. 


■  ' 


occupation  of  the  whole  of  her  time  in  the  sale  of 
Bibles,  in  a  low  district  unclaimed  by  voluntary  col- 
lectors. She  found  in  that  district  numbers  of  human 
beings,  whose  homes  and  persons,  whose  habits  and 
co:idition,  were  such,  that  no  one  going  to  them  with 
Jhe  Word  of  God  in  their  hands,  if  the  Spirit  of  God 
were  shed  abroad  in  their  own  hearts,  could  say,  "  I 
bring  you  the  Book,  and  nought  besides."  It  was  im- 
possible to  visit  in  such  a  district  with  any  spiritual 
purpose,  and  not  see  that  the  physical  estate  of  its  in- 
habitants required  raising,  in  order  to  the  acceptance 
of  any  offer  of  good  to  their  souls.  The  continued 
visits  of  the  above  individual,  und?r  watchful  guid- 
ance, were  shortly,  as  our  readers  are  aware,  made  in- 
strumental in  the  reformation  of  many  of  these  wretch- 
ed homes  ;  and  such  improvement  was,  and  is  to  this 
day,  connected  in  the  minds  of  the  people  with  the 
Bible  and  the  Bible  Society. 

The  work  did  not  stop  in  St.  Giles's.  What  had 
been  accomplished  in  one  low  district,  it  was  thought 
might  be  tried  in  another  ;  and  what  one  poor  woman 
had  been  found  to  do,  other  poor  women  might  be 
encouraged  to  attempt  with  equal  success,  always 
under  the  careful  training  of  educated  Christian  la- 
dies. 

The  Bible  Society  were,  meanwhile,  untreated  to  re 
j)eat  their  grants,  and  another  .£5,  then  <£10,  then  £30, 


FIGURES   FOB  BIBLE  SOCIETY  SUBSCRIBERS.       271 


'i 


ii 


then  X60,  provided  the  salary  for  seven  other  Bible- 
women  ;  and  on  the  20th  of  December,  1858,  £128  of 
the  Society's  money  had  been  dispensed  in  payments 
for  purely  Bible  icorJ:,  not  only  in  St.  Giles's,  but  in 
Paddington,  Clerkenwell,  Gray's  Inn  Lane,  Somers' 
Town,  Westminster^  and  Blackfriars. 

It  is  a  fact  that  cannot  be  denied,  that,  but  for  the 
Bible-women's  agency,  this  number  of  between  5,000 
and  6,000  copies  of  the  Scriptures  could  never  have 
reached  a  class  who  would  not  liave  come  forth  to  buy 
them.  The  Committee,  therefore,  rejoice  in  tlie  ascer- 
tained results,  and  on  the  18th  of  July  last  they  voted 

A    CONTINUANCE     OF     THEIR     GRANTS    tO     thlS     objCCt, 

"  though  their  now  extended  nature  demands  that  in 
future  they  be  made  through  three  members  of  their 
OWN  BODY,  who  take  special  and  practical  interest  in 
the  subject,  and  who  guarantee  that  sucli  funds  are  to 
be  appropriated  exclusively  to  the  legitimate  object 
of  the  British  and  Forciirn  Bible  Societv." 

During  the  past  six  months  twenty  new  Female  Mis- 
sionaries liave  been  added  to  the  staff,  and  eacli  one  is 
fixed  in  a  suitable  locality  ;  thev  are  almost  all  placed 
under  good  local  superintendence,  and  are  brought  into 
connnunication  with  tlic  pre\'ious  or  present  Biiile 
work  of  tlie  district. 

The  Bible  Societv  is  considered  to  have  a  full  and 
stronjx  hold  on  their  allegiance.     Tiiev  are  i»re('minent- 


*;S 


W 


272 


THE   MISSING  LINK. 


li 


ly  BiBLE-woMEX,  in  a  way  that  they  would  not  have 
been  had  their  services  been  enlisted  merely  as  Female 
City  Missionaries.  Then  the  distribution  of  the  Bible, 
and  possibly  by  (jift,  would  have  been  the  incidental 
purpose  of  the  Mission — now  it  is  its  chief  aim.  The 
first  three  days  of  the  week  are  claimed  on  behalf  of 
the  Bible  Society,  i.  e.,  five  hours  of  eacli  day.  This 
is  the  peculiar  and  Protestant  mark  of  the  Mission, 
and  distinguishes  it  from  all  other  merely  ssocial  work  ; 
but  to  the  SOCIAL  work  we  must  now  turn  our  separate 
attention 


TO  THE  SUBSCRIBERS  TO   OUR  FEMALE   DOMESTIC 

MISSIONS. 

The  following  Tables  of  Receipts  and  Expenditures 
have  likewise  an  interesting  story,  known  already  to 
the  readers  of  the  "  Book  and  its  Missions." 

To  about  the  sjra  of  one  Imndred  guineas,  received 
from  the  Bible  Society  in  1857-8  (and  a  grant  more 
fruitful  of  good,  perliaps,  they  never  bestowed),  addi- 
tion  was  made,  unsought  and  unexpectedly,  ohlcfiy  by 
the  means  of  recitals  contained  m  the  above  nuigazine, 
which  seemed  ]n'ovided,  as  it  were,  by  the  Hand  that 
guides  the  world.  In  the  year  1858,  donations  rea*ried 
the  «»ditor  to  the  amount  of  £644,  which  sum  wu,^  de- 


FKIURES   FOR    BIBLE   SOCIETY   srHSnunEWS.       273 


I  have 
'eraale 
Bible, 
dental 

The 
alf  of 

This 

[ission, 

work ; 

sparate 


STIC 

iditures 
^ady  to 

leceived 
it  more 
h,  uddi- 
lioflv  bv 
igazme, 
U  that 
•eiv'ied 
wst,^  de- 


sired to  be  expended  on  tlie  Domestic  ])nrposcs  of 
these  Female  Bible  Missions  to  tlie  lioines  of  tlie  poor 
of  London,  not  in  giff.  bnt  in  helping  tlie  hel])h)ss  and 
the  thriftless  to  try  anu  help  themselves. 

The  account  of  the  first  year's  exi)euditnrc  is  ftiveu 
in  the  next  page. 

With  each  month's  work  came  fresli  experience  and 
introduction  to  new  fields  of  labor.  Couns<d  was  taken 
with  practical  co-workers  ;  a  few  rules  were  instituted, 
and  results  of  experiments  compared.  Tliere  are  now 
from  two  to  five  Bible-women  in  eacli  of  the  postal 
districts  of  London. 

Tlie  receipts  of  the  first  half  year  of  1850  have,  we 
are  happy  to  say,  exceeded  those  of  the  w/iole  year  of 
1858.  Th'V  wore  ]>reviously  Cr)44.  Tlicy  are  now 
X766.  The  ■>;iymeiits  of  the  poor  for  their  own  su])- 
ply  of  clothing  and  bedding  were,  in  1858,  £109. 
They  are  now  4;'229,  making  a  total  of  receipts, 
from  the  20th  of  November  to  the  20tli  of  May,  of 
£99.5. 

During  the  wliole  existence  of  the  agency,  the  ex- 
penditure on  the  part  of  the  Bible  Society,  us  has  l)een 
seen,  is       .  .  .  .  .  X301    U  7 

On  the  part  of  the  Mission  Fund  .         1,218     9  7 

Of  a  small  distinct  fund,  account  lemains  vet  to 
be    rendered,    namely,  of    that   one    for    minor    ex- 


41 
'■'il 


274 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


00 

>o 

CO 


a 

H 
O 

in 

a 

pa 

I— * 

> 

o 

o 

H 

oo 


01 

•y. 


o 


^J  cc  cc  ^  05  ic  <e 

o 

i« 

•ean^ipuodxa 

►-.'?)«— '/.  »-<  M 

o 

IBIOJ, 

cr.  O  CTl  ^  V5  T< 

tr 

Cll  tt  CO  CC  r^  t  H 

« 

•  nSOi  eoeOb-'«© 

o 

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to  05  ec  t-  X  o 

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Qj   ,-1            T-t           tH 

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jj  0»  O  W.O  !N  i-H 

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joj  pojuu.vpv 

00  ^^  rt  T-«  r-1  r-1  ri 
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rH 

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w«oio«9«o  -r? 

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^  rH  r-t  r- 1  rH        iH 

•J,  <N  b»  CO  tH  iH  r 

S 

,^-  Ci  O  1.1  a»  _  o 

- 

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•s;d!.iaaji 

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CO 

o 

s.auoA. 

OC  -^                         rH 

rH 

fM  CO  »M  ■^^  V3  o 

CO 

CO 

CjJ  jjj  iO  t-  -f  <X)  <N 

■* 

12 

^  M  m  —  a-i  o  o 

00 

•JOO  J  oin 

.  r  to  </5  irt  r  ■* 

■* 

:f(l  SJUOIUAUJ 

—  —  to  to*]  o 

C(J  to  (»  T-l 

rH 

.^'  to  —  to  .;.  c  o 

c 

rH 

•8U01JUU0Q 

.  W  to  M  T-l  O  3 

« 

to 

1-H  to  lO  ►-  if5  O 

or 

^ 

CJ  Aj  CO  ift  08  %  rl 

«♦ 

S 

W 

u 

I    .        .    .    ! 

Marian,  St.  Giles's 

artha.  Paddington 

Sarah,  Clerk'-nwell 
Lydia,  Grays  Inn  Lane. 
Esther,  Sontiers   Town.. 
Cluirlotte,  Westminster. . 

Pi 

rh 

i 

PENSES,  contin- 
gent upon  cann- 
ing on  d  MisLion 
work  on  the  pre- 
sent scale  and 
plans,  to  Avhich 
personal  friends 
of  the  Editor  of 
"  The  Book  and 
ITS  Missions  " 
liavc  kindly  con- 
tributed the  sum 
...f  xil'}  5s.  Of 
tliis  c£41  10s.  has 
been  expended, 
and  X18  15s.  re- 
mains. 

In  this  little 
book  we  have 
confined  tlie  at- 
tention of  our 
readers  to  our 
own  immediate 
circle  of  London; 
but  there  arc 
large  suburbs  of 
London,  such  as 
Greenwich    and 


. 


FIGURES   FOR   BIBLE   SOCIETY  SUBSCRIBERS.       275 


iontin- 
carry- 
Lisiion 
le  prc- 
;  and 
wliich 
friends 
tor  of 

)K  AND 
ilONS  " 

ly  con- 
lie  sum 
.      Of 
Os.  has 
:>ended, 
15s.  re- 
little 
have 
the  at- 
r    our 
0    our 
lied  i  ate 
ondon; 
are 
[irbs  of 
luch  as 
1    and 


lilackheath,  Islington,  Lambetli,  and  Wandsworth, 
where  these  Missions  are  condueted  on  the  same  plans, 
and  where  the  funds  are  provided  locally.  We  like- 
wise hear  of  sim.'l9r  agency  at  Brighton,  at  Newcastle, 
at  Bath,  at  Cheltenham,  and  in  the  Wynds  of  Glas- 
gow. In  each  case  the  two  parties  work  together  : 
they  have  no  committee  to  harass  them  with  formali- 
ties and  resolutions  ;  but  they  are  left  to  their  own 
"  inspired  discretion,"  and  to  tiie  guidance  of  experi- 
ence as  to  the  best  metiiods  of  proceeding,  which  are 
learned  by  occasional  meetings  with  other  ladies  and 
other  Bible-women.  "  It  is  a  sort  of  gospel  of  the 
scrubbing-brush,"  to  use  the  expression  of  a  fraternal 
pen,  "  which  goes  along  with  the  presentation  of  the 
MESSAGE  FROM  GoD — an  cvaugcl  of  saucepans,  and  fresh 
clean  beds,  and  tidy  gowns,  which  tends  onward  to 
the  washing  of  the  soul  in  the  laver  of  regenera- 
tion." 

"  The  '  woman '  goes  where  the  '  lady '  might  not 
enter,  and  performs  offices  which  are  most  fittingly 
rendered  by  persons  of  the  working  class.  The  floor 
is  scrubbed  by  a  good  '  woman'  better  than  by  a  pious 
'  lady.'  Yet  the  lady  can  find  the  scrubbing-brush, 
and  the  soap,  and  materials  for  soup,  and  supplies  of 
clothing,  and  the  funds  that  are  needful,  and  the  sym- 
pathy and  counsel  which  are  indispensable,  and  be  very 
blessed  in  her  deed." 


sas 


276 


THB  MISSINU   LINK. 


Half  Year's  Balance  Sheet  op  Female  Domestic  Missions, 


RECEIPTS. 


i 


I 


J9 
■rt.S 


(2 


E.G. 
W.C. 


N. 
S.W, 

w. 

£. 

N.E. 


District. 


S.2 


I.  London  Wall... 
Suiithfleld  ... 
II.  Sotnci'.s"  Town 
Giii}''s  Inn  Lune 

St.  Giles's 

King  Street  do. 
Driiry  Lane  do . 
Cromer  Street. 

III.  Cierkenwell  . 
Islington 

IV.  Westminster  . , 
Newport  Market 

V.  Piuldinfrton  . . . 
Lisson  Grove... 
Edsrware  I'.oad. 

VI.  Stepney  

Wiiitecliapel. . . 
St.  Georfre  Kast 

VII.  Spitalflelds 

Betlinnl  Grtcn 

do. 
Victoria  Park.,. 
Haiigerstoiie .   . 

Siioredlch 

VIII   New  Cut 

Walworth 


General  Fund. 


Saiah-'-. .. 
l>inah.. .. 
Kstlier  . . 
Lydia. . . . 
-Marian.  . 
Kiitii  . 
Miriam*. 
I  arriet. . 
Lucy  .. 
Anna.  .. . 
Charlotte 
Kachel  .. 
Martha. 
Jane  . 
Apitlia*.. 
Priscilla.. 
Susan .  . . 
Bridfret.  . 
Hannah  . 
Alice  . 
Sophy. . . 
Mary  .  . . 
Iti'becca.. 
Dorothy . 
hoebe . . 
Deborah. 


9.  2 


E-* 


24  IS 

ol    T 


;:  «.   d. 


7    0    0 

7i  n  0   0 

6 


7    6 


32  13    6 


18    0 
57    9 


3  9    0 

4  0    0 


5    0  0 

5    0  0 

20    0 

9    0  0 

:  .^  0  0 

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'■Examined  and  found  correct"— W.  Coles,  J.  H.  Fokdiiam,  AiulMors. 
*  Supported  by  private  benevolence. 


^i 


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^lOURES   FOR  BIBLE  SOCIETY  S 


SUBSCRIBERS.       277 


IMESTIC   MlSSIOX.^ 


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FROM  JVomiBER  20th     7«^fi 

'  1858,  TO  May  20Tir,  1859. 

EXPEXDITURE. 


Sarah. . 
Dinah. 

Esther 
I/tl  a. . 
^farlan. 
Euth  . 
Miriam. 
Harriet. 
Lucy  .. 
^fina.  . . . 
Charlotte 
Rachel  . 
Martha, 
'Tane  — 
Affatha..! 
I'ri.sciila..i 
Susan  .  . .  j 
I'l'idget. .; 
Hannah  . 
Alice  ...■' 
Sophy.  ..I 
Alary  ...  I 

Kc'beeca.. 
Diirotliy.' 
Ihoebe  .  • 
Deborah  •, 

FCND      f  i 


^1^2    7l9    4    9    ,  ■'> 
2  16    8    0  15    IW 

^^itll  ■■■'■ 

o  1?    j!  "    2    0 

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^"  '■''    8  8;  14  j„  ,2  J   • 
'088'     .. 


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0  18 


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i'l « ' « .  ■  'i ', ; ,?  I 


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«  17    9 

8    1     61    9    ,s    2 

0  10    5(    1,1    0| 

"19    6    19  11     ^ 

1  12    0    19    0 
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8  11  ml  /  '* 


*-  «•  ^/., 

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29    8  11 

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7  li    o' 


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«  11  1 
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16  18  9 
69  6  4) 
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.|»',J 

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8" '19  o\ 

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'1    7  9 

6  7  G 


278 


THE  MISSINO    LINK. 


t 


It  certainly  seems  that  a  Native  Female  Agency, 
drawn  from  the  classes  we  want  to  serve  and  instruct, 
has  hitherto  been  a  Missing  Link,  and  that  sncli  sup- 
plementary work  might  now  perfect  the  heavenly 
chain,  which  shall  lift  the  lost  and  the  reckless  from 
the  depths  of  their  despair.  It  should  be  forged  by 
the  universal  church  of  Christ.  In  fact,  the  material 
is  already  in  the  hands  of  earnest  Christians,  and  they 
have  only  to  take  it  up  and  use  it.  So  much  of  their 
past  work  has  borne  fruit,  that  this  has  only  to  "  bring 
forth  more  fruit."  "  To  him  that  hath  shall  be  given," 
"  and  he  shall  have  abundance "  in  the  garner  of 
God. 

It  is  a  common  remark  of  those  who  are  engaged  in 
this  agency,  and  whose  hearts  are  warmed  by  perceiv- 
ing the  fitness  of  the  instrumentality  to  the  end  design- 
ed to  be  accomplished,  "  Why  was  this  Missing  Link  not 
thought  of  long  ago  ?  " 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


OUR     SUNKEN     SIXTH. 


>> 


In  a  recent  estimate  of  the  condition  of  classes  of 
the  population  in  Glasgow  it  was  discovered  that  while 
two-sixths  of  the  people  were  rising,  two-sixths  of 
tliem  were  falling  in  their  worldly  circumstances  :  one- 
sixth  might  be  said  to  have  risen;  another  sixtli  had 
reached  the  lowest  point,  and  were  truly  tlie  "  sunken 
sixth." 

Now,  it  is  a  very  large  class,  this  of  our  "  sunken 
sixtli "  in  LcNDON.  They  have  been  reached  commonly 
but  l»v  the  police.  The  idea  prevails  concerning  them 
that  .  (cy  are  a  drunken  and  dangerous  class  as  a 
whole  ;  but  there  are  many  h  lades  and  varieties  among 
them.  Some  live  by  their  wits  and  daily  shifts,  and  in 
such  liabits  of  lying  that  they  know  not  what  truth  is. 
Brought  up  in  dens  of  infamy,  they  know  not  what 
virtue  is.  Otliers  earn  daily  wfiat  might  be  an  abun- 
dant provi.^ion  for  their  wants,  but  they  mismanage  it : 
no  one  has  taught  them  better,  and  they  do  as  their 
fathers  and  mothers  did  before  them. 

(379) 


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280 


THE   MISHING    LIXK. 


The  Bible-woman  agency  arose  amid  this  class. 
Rescued  by  the  grace  of  God  from  sin,  "  Marian"  could 
yet  say  to  those  she  visited,  "  I  am  quite  as  poor  as  you 
are,"  and  "  I  know  your  ways."  When  God  has  a  work 
of  salvation  to  do  he  always  sends  the  right  people  to 
do  it.  Higl  educated  ladies  would  not  have  been 
the  Missionaries  for  these  Magdalens,  whose  doors 
were  closed  against  all  respectable  approach.  "  Out," 
"  out,"  "  out,"  was  said  of  them  day  after  day  to  the 
Clergyman,  the  City  Missionary,  and  the  Lady  Visitor 
— all  too  holy,  and  good,  and  clean  for  them — of  no  use 
to  them,  except  as  persons  from  whom  they  might  beg. 
But  let  a  woman  draw  near  them  just  like  themselves 
— not  an  ecclesiastical  agent — coming  from  no  church 
or  party — without  costume  ;  not  one  of  any  sisterhood 
— simply  a  kind,  good,  motherly  woman — and  slie  may 
come  and  welcome ;  she  may  come  with  a  "  Message 
from  God,"  and  they  will  let  her  lift  them  out  of  their 
filth  to  hear  it.  She  may  point  them  to  their  forgotten 
duties,  or  to  acts  which  they  never  saw  to  be  duties  ; 
may  show  them  how  their  children  look  when  they 
are  clean  ;  may  teach  them  the  use  of  soap ;  instruct 
them  in  the  preparation  of  food ;  get  their  windows 
opened  and  their  floors  purified  ;  teach  them  the  com- 
fort of  clean  linen  and  clean  beds ;  and  bring  them 
eventually  "  clothed,  and  in  their  right  mind,"  to  sit  at 
the  feet  of  all  and  any  who  may  be  in  their  degree 


OUR   SUNKEN  SIXTH. 


281 


ley 


>ws 


)m- 


lera 
at 


ree 


"  the  ministers  of  Christ."  These  people  are  tired  of 
what  they  call  "  parsons  "  and  "  humbug  ;"  but  they  arc 
not  tired  of  kindness  and  sympathy.  They  perpetu- 
ally say  "  nobody  has  cared  for  them,"  "  they  are  sur- 
prised that  any  one  will  come  down  so  low." 

"  Voices  from  the  depths  1 "  "  Where  is  all  that  be- 
longs to  poor  London  ?"  we  ask,  as  we  enter  its  empty 
and  comfortless  abodes.  Where  ?  In  the  gin-shops 
and  the  pawn-shops  I  The  earnings  of  every  day  go 
to  the  first,  and  all  the  tidy  appliances  of  life's  begin- 
nings are  lost  in  tlie  gulf  of  the  second.  Are  they  quite 
lost  ?  Is  there  any  vestige  of  them  ?  Yes  1  A  >k  for 
the  pawnbroker's  tickets.  In  a  thousand  cases  you 
will  be  too  late,  but  a  hundred  comforts  you  might  re- 
store. •*  I  would  give  you  twopence,  mistress,"  said  a 
woman  in  Newport  Market  to  our  *'  Rachel "  there  ; 
"  but  I  have  a  good  gown  in  pawn,  and  here's  the 
ticket.  Will  you  save  the  money  for  that  for  me  ?  I 
can't." 

"  The  general  principle  of  the  work  above  described 
is  to  present  religion  to  the  lowest  class,  the  '  sunken 
sixth'  of  our  society,  at  its  first  visit  to  them,  as  a 
gracious  healing  remedy  for  their  actual  miseries,  and 
not  as  a  thing  merely  of  books,  and  tracts,  and  ser- 
mons. When  the  gospel  goes  to  the  door  of  an  aban- 
doned family  in  this  guise  it  seldom  fails  to  gain  admit- 
tance.    Illness  is  too  common  among  the  poor  to  bo 


282 


THE  MISSING   LINK. 


difficult  to  find  ;  and  where  there  is  sufi^ering,  help  is 
soon  welcomed.  *  Shall  I  make  you  comfortable?'  is  a 
question  which  few  poor  women  in  their  illness  will 
meet  with  a  negative.  And,  as  'Marian'  says,  one 
thing  leads  to  another.  Those  who  would  be  ashamed 
to  be  seen  by  a  Clergyman,  a  City  Missionary,  or  a 
Lady  Visitor,  have  no  objection  to  be  a  little  cleared 
and  set  straight  in  their  afflictions  by  one  like  them- 
selves. And  every  such  family  visited  in  trouble  be- 
comes friendly  when  the  trouble  has  passed  away.  A 
very  few  months  thus  spent  establish  an  influence  in  tlie 
lowest  and  vilest  neighborhoods  which  is  irresistible. 
And  it  is  an  influence  which  opens  a  connection  be- 
tween the  lost  and  the  classes  who  can  save  them.  In 
these  cases  the  first  penny  sUved  from  the  gin-shop 
often  becomes  the  commencement  of  a  spiritual,  in- 
terior and  everlasting  salvation.  They  begin  to  value 
what  they  have,  and  then  they  learn  to  value  what 
they  are." 

The  ''sunken  sixth"  is  a  material  that  lies  round 
about  us  almost  everywhere,  at  least  in  towns  and 
cities.  Perhaps  the  sketches  hereby  given  will  be  con- 
sidered to  have  proved  that  they  can  be  readied  with 
a  particular  purpose,  and  by  a  fresh  kind  of  agency. 
Perhaps  the  idea  may  be  suggested  by  these  facts 
that  it  requires  lnit  one  great,  wide-spreading,  united 
efi'ort  of  Christians  everywhere  to  reach  them,  and  to 


OUR  SUNKEN   SIXTH. 


283 


)uncl 

and 

con- 

Ivith 

Incv. 

Facts 

ited 

ll  to 


raise  them.  Some  cau  give  money,  some  time,  some 
method,  some  teaching  faculty,  some  heart  sympathy, 
some  fervent  prayer.  The  work  wants  doing  ;  and 
shall  it  any  longer  remain  midone  ?  ' ' 

We  wish  clearly  to  repeat  that,  helpful  as  it  may 
prove  to  all  good  ecclesiastical  effort,  the  present 
movement  is  not  ecclesiastical.  In  this  it  differs  from 
all  similar  movements  of  a  former  day.  It  does  some 
kindred  work  to  that  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  in  the 
Roman  church.  They  have  ever  proved  the  best 
supports  of  Rome,  and  have  often  truly  followed  out 
their  name.  Their  services,  however,  have  been  very 
much  limited  to  self-denying  attendance  on  the  sick, 
and  to  ministration  among  high  and  low  in  varied 
scenes  of  sorrow  and  suffering.  Popery  has  been  wise 
in  its  generation,  and  has  always  recognized  the  femi- 
nine element  in  religious  work,  even  to  the  evil  ex- 
treme of  setting  up  to  be  worshipped  "  the  Mother 
of  God."  The  Roman  Catholic  Sisters  of  Charity  have 
worked  diligently /or  <^eiV  Church,  and  they  have  their 
reward  ;  but  they  are  not  the  '^servants  of  the  Word.^^ 
They  tell  the  people  "  they  want  something  more  or 
less  than  the  Bible."  They  wield  not  the  "  sword  of 
the  Spirit."  The  "  lamp"  is  not  their  "  pitchers,"  and 
the  world  of  the  "  sunken  sixth"  is  still  by  them  un- 
conquered. 

While  these  pages  are  passing  through  tlie  press 


284 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


there  has  come  before  us  a  little  pamphlet  entitled, 


"The  Kaisersworth  Deaconesses," 


containing  an  ac- 


count of  an  apparently  successful  experiment,  on  a 
limited  scale,  to  restore  the  office  of  "  Deaconess"  in 
the  Lutheran  church.  In  a  retired  German  village, 
Pastor  Fliedner  and  his  wife,  having  devoted  them- 
selves to  this  work,  have,  during  the  last  twenty  years, 
trained  two  hundred  and  forty  "nursing"  and  "  teach- 
ing" sisters  of  various  ages,  who  take  the  benevolent 
care  of  a  hospital,  schools,  and  asylums  for  orphans, 
lunatics,  &c.,  both  at  Kaisersworth  and  in  similar 
houses  at  home  and  abroad.  ■  * 

These  sisters  are  received  from  various  ranks  of 
society,  and  admitted  on  probation  ;  and  if  accepted, 
engage  themselves  to  serve  this  institution  for  five 
years,  and  to  observe  a  code  of  laws  which  appears  to 
be  very  Christian  and  excellent.  They  wear  a  dis- 
tinguishing dress,  and  are  set  apart  to  their  work  "  as 
deaconesses,"  servants  of  the  church,  like  Phoebe  of 
old.  (See  Rom.  xvi,  1.)  This  is  done  by  an  ordina- 
tion service,  "  a  holy  solemnity,  a  solemn  and  joyful 
covenant."  Much  interesting  reference  is  made  in  this 
pamphlet  to  the  institution  of  the  order  in  early  and 
apostolic  times. 

But  to  meet  the  present  need  of  the  "  sunken  sixth," 
something  more  universal  seems  needed  than  would  be 
compassed   by   the  institution   of   any   order.      The 


OUR  SUNKEN   SIXTH. 


285 


itled, 
in  ae- 
on a 
3s"  in 
illage, 
them- 
j'ears, 
teacli- 
volent 
phan?, 
jimilar 

nks  of 
3epted, 
31'  five 
ears  to 
a  dis- 
rk  "  aa 
be  of 
irdina- 
joyful 
in  this 
Iv  and 

I  ft 

sixth," 
luld  be 
The 


number  of  women  is  comparatively  few,  whose  duty  it 
is  to  separate  themselves  from  the  ties  of  family  and 
relationsliip,  and  to  do  nothing  else  but  servo  as 
"  deaconesses,"  in  comparison  with  the  far  greater 
number  who,  in  tlie  midst  of  private  duties  and  of 
family  life,  can  yet  lend  a  hand,  day  by  day,  to  raiso 
"  the  sunken  sixth  ;"  watcliing  over  and  strengthening 
the  NATIVE  AGENTS  who  shall  be  given  up  to  the 
service  ;  whose  great  first  duty  it  is  "  to  hold  forth  the 
word  of  life  ;"  and  whose  second,  to  lift  up  the  hand 
of  the  "  lowest  of  the  low,"  to  take  hold  on  all  the 
good  the  universal  church  of  Christ  has  already  pi-o- 
vided  for  them  ;  and  tl»is  is  woman's  work  and  motli- 
ers'  work.  It  may  spring  up  everywliore,  and  wlio 
shall  hinder  it  ? 

The  woman  is  appointed  for  the  physical  civiliza- 
tion of  communities.  She  is  to  "  guide  tlie  house," 
whether  small  or  great ;  and  this  part  of  tlio  education 
of  the  women  of  the  working  classes  has  l)cen  lilllo 
cared  for.  The  misery  surrounding  them  is  a  voice 
from  the  depths  saying,  "  Teach  us  to  mend  it."  It  is 
women  of  their  own  class  who  must  answer  this  cry, 
just  because  of  these  only  they  will  learn  what  is 
wanted  to  be  known. 

The  City  Missionary  and  the  Scripture  Reader  can- 
not accomplish  this  Woman's  Mission.  They  meet  in 
their  morning  rounds  chiefly  with  women,  dirty,  lazy, 


286 


THE   MISSING   LINK. 


and  drunken  ;  or,  if  industrious,  at  their  work.  Tiieir 
husbands  are  generally  "  at  work,"  and  in  some  cases 
they  complain  of  the  spiritual  visit  paid  to  their  wives, 
as  "just  hindering  them  and  bothering  them  ;"  but  we 
do  not  find  they  have  anytliing  to  say  against  our 
''  Marians,"  and  "  Marthas,"  and  "  Sarahs,"  and  "  Re- 
beccas." These  have  all  met  with  a  genuine  welcome 
from  tlie  Lower  House  of  Lords,  who  know  that  their 
wives  want  teaching  the  common  arts  of  life,  and  that 
even  their  own  comfort  depends  upon  the  lesson  being 
learned. 

*'  Of  mothers,  whether  rich  or  poor,  it  must  be  said, 
*  Woe  to  every  woman  who  is  not  her  son's  counsellor  to 
do  him  good.'  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  it  is  she  who 
determines  the  course  of  his  life's  river.  Alas!  for 
one  who  does  her  duty  by  him,  scores  neglect  it.  The 
first  idea  a  child  has  of  goodness  is  from  his  education 
in  a  well-ordered  house.  Some  houses  are  always  in 
a  chaos  of  confusion — only  thunder  and  lightning  to 
be  heard  amid  their  darkness ;  in  others,  sunshine 
gilds  the  home,  and  brightens  all  the  old  furniture 
more  than  if  it  were  inlaid  with  gold.  A  good  mother 
ruling  there  teaches  more  than  a  cathedral  establish- 
ment, and,  holy  woman  if  she  is,  receives  an  aureola 
like  a  saint  in  the  hearts  of  her  children.  Her  work 
is  truly  work  for  God,  and  so  is  that  of  the  good 
nurse  and  teacher.     It  is  possible  to  ascribe  too  much 


OUR  SUNKEN   SIXTH. 


287 


Their 
lie  cases 
r  wives, 
but  wc 
nst  our 
id  "Re- 
velcoine 
at  their 
md  that 
•n  being 

be  said, 
seller  to 
3he  who 
lasl  for 
t.  The 
lucation 
ways  in 
tning  to 
iunshine 
arniture 
mother 
stablish- 
aureola 
er  work 
le  good 
fO  much 


to  eccle™s.,cal  iafluenco...  ChiWren  arc  not  tl,o,„.|,t 
.-ehgious  •  ..nlcs  tho,-  I,ol„„.  ,„  the  ehu.-el,  .  l,„t  th'^e 
'«  a  church  i„  the  house,  and  „,any  a  little  child 
belongs  to  it.  «o,„c  of  the  „o.,t  real  religion  in  th 
"■or  d,  „  t,.at  of  little  children,  and  s„„,c  of  the  do- 
voutest  communion  with  heaven  i,  uttered  in  their 
early  prayers." 

Now,  it   is    this   MOTHER'S  IKPLUENOE  which   wants 

carrying  down  among  the  -lost  and  degraded" 
Manans  first  missionary  walks  in  St.  Giles's  were 
directed  with  a  sense  that  our  Lord  would  thither 
have  bent  his  steps  were  he  still  upon  the  earth  ;  and 

sou  d  we  not  follow,  for  the  sake  of  Him  ;„ose 
blood  m  the  act  of  being  shed  upon  the  cross,  drew 
with  It  that  day  to  paradise  the  first  soul  it  had  re- 
deemed, the  dying  thief,  a  member  of  the  class  of  "  the 
sunken  sixth  ? 


CHAPTER    XXII. 


OUR   AGENTS,    AND   TIIBIR   SUPPORT. 


f 


A  VERY  general  question  asked  us  is,  "  Wliere  do 
you  find  the  women  ? — it  must  be  so  very  difficult  to 
do  that ;"  and  our  reply  may  be,  "  We  believe  God 
finds  them,  and  we  perpetually  ask  him  for  a  right 
judgment  concerning  those  who  present  themselves  " 
We  bv  no  means  take  all  who  come  ;  and  we  often 
have  to  watch  against  a  kindly  wish  to  oblige  friends 
who  only  want  a  comfortable  provision  for  their  dear 
Mrs.  So  and  So,  and  "  think  she  may  do."  No  ;  this 
truly  laborioiih  and  self-denying  mission  requires  an 
agent  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  who  evidences, 
after  trying  her  for  a  month,  that  she  lias  an  especial 
call  to  this  wotk. 

We  are  often  sorry  to  write  to  our  country  friends, 
and  say  that  we  cannot,  at  their  request,  "find  them 
Bible-woinen."  The  kind  of  women  who  may  be  made 
useful  we  believe  to  exist  everyiuliere  among  the  com- 
municants or  members  of  our  religious  bodies.  The 
Scripture  Reader  or  City  Missionary  will  often  point 

(288) 


OUK    A(;KXTS,    ANI>    TIIKIH   SUIM'OUT. 


280 


icnds 
dear 
this 
-es  an 
ences, 
pecial 

•lends, 
them 
made 
com- 
The 
point 


them  out,  and  wlierc  their  services  are  required  tliey 
must  be  sought  by  fuitli  and  prayer. 

If  we  were  asked  to  give  a  lew  details  concerning 
the  choice  and  guidance  of  the  Bii»le-women,  tliey 
would  be  these  : — Next  to  ijielv,  humilitv  and  docilitv 
are  the  most  valuable  traits  of  character.  Courage 
and  common  sense  cannot  be  left  out  of  the  question  ; 
a  quick,  observant  eye,  and  a  ready  hand  for  whatever 
is  wanted,  are  important ;  and  a  bright,  cheerful  view 
of  tilings  is  a  wonderful  assistance  in  obviating  the 
prejudices  of  the  poor.  But  no  one  woman  will  pos- 
sess all  these  virtues  in  perfection,  and  in  some  par- 
ticulars more  than  others  each  will  surely  need  culti- 
vation. 

We  feel  called  upon  to  reject  at  once  an  evidently 
'•  pious  gossip,"  or  a  weakly  person  who  merely  wants 
a  place  ;  or  a  woman  whose  duty  is  to  her  own  snuill 
family  ;  or  a  pretty,  delicate  young  widow,  unfit  for 
rough  work  ;  or  any  one  who  thinks  evidently  great 
things  of  herself,  and  is  "sure  she  knows  all  about  it 
before  she  hears  ;"  l)ut  a  clean,  tidy,  humble,  cheerful 
pleasant-spoken  matron,  witli  a  good  character — a 
character  for  real  [)iety  without  "  cant" — with  a  quiet, 
energetic  missionary  spirit  about  her,  in  her  own  small 
sphere,  is  whiii  we  want,  and  may  be  gladly  accepted. 
at  least  for  a  month  on  probation. 

She  should  certainlv  be  al)le  to  read  and  to  write. 

la 


]r 


2«0 


THE   MlbiJLNG    LkNK 


and  her  lady  may  improve  licr  in  both  particulars  be- 
fore she  commenced  her  work.  She  will  not,  of  course, 
be  an  educated  person ;  but  she  must  be  trusty,  con- 
scientious, honest  and  truthful ;  and,  under  a  wise  direc- 
tress, she  will  improve  and  develope  when  she  gets 
into  her  duties.  In  every  one  of  our  present  thirty  wom- 
en there  is  something  that  one  might  wish  otherwise  ; 
it  is  the  "lamp"  in  the  "earthen  pitcher:"  but  God 
works  often  with  very  imperfect  instruments,  or  he 
would  not  work  with  any  of  us.  The  teachable  per- 
son accomplishes  most  on  the  whole,  especially  if  she 
has  a  large  and  loving  heart  that  has  itself  known 
much  affliction.  We  want  these  women  for  a  prac- 
tical purpose  from  a  practical  school. 

This  is  truly  a  mighty  work,  and  makes  all  engaged 
in  it  feel  their  own  feebleness.  They  must  ask  daily 
and  hourly  wisdom  from  above,  and  go  forth  continu- 
ally sustained  by  prayer.  Those  are  the  best  super- 
intendents who  pray  the  most  with  and  for  their  wom- 
en, and  who  teach  them  most  readily  to  unsheathe  the 
"  sword  of  the  Spirit"  which  they  bear, — to  answer  the 
people  FROM  THE  Book.  It  is  "  the  sword  of  the  Lord 
and  of  Gideon  ;"  and  we  believe  it  is  because  of  their 
earnest  faith  that  they  have  a  message  from  God  for 
the  people  that,  simple  folk  as  they  are,  they  have  been 
honored  with  success  almost  invariable.  In  this  suc- 
cess there  have  been  three  elements.    The  Bible  first 


OUR   A0ENT9,    AND      HEIR   SUPPORT. 


201 


uper- 
wom- 
e  the 
r  the 
Lord 

their 
>D  for 

been 
Is  suc- 

I  FIRST 


— always  the  presentation  of  tlic  Book,  declariiij^  what 
it  is.  When  tliat  lias  met  with  the  faintest  welcome, 
the  door  of  entrance  was  open,  tlie  repeated  visit  ha^ 
shown  tliat  the  body  was  thoucjht  of  as  well  as  the 
SOUL,  for  human  souls  live  in  l)odies,  and  the  l)odies  of 
these  "  lowest  of  the  low"  were  verv  wretched  ;  and 
further,  it  has  been  a  mission  of  women  to  women,  and 
of  WOMEN  of  their  OWN  CLASS,  wlucli  was  very  much 
wanted,  as  was  evident  by  its  ready  acceptance  :  it 
was  a  Mi.^sing  Link,  and  as  sucli  we  have  given  its 
true  and  simple  history. 

The  distribution  of  tlio  Word  of  God,  and  the  im- 
provement ofthe  homes  of  the  poor,  are  both  objects  in 
whicli  all  Cliristians  can  u..itc.  There  is  no  need  for 
sectional  division  here.  Let  every  church  of  Clirist,  or 
cono-rogation  of  faithful  men  and  women,  set  itself  to 
discern  the  fit  helpers  it  possesses,  and  give  them  up 
to  tlie  work.  Tlie  self-denial  of  not  determining  to 
keep  them  and  use  them  congregatio) tally  is  a  high  ele- 
ment in  tlie  matter,  wliich  a  fresh  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  miglit  perhaps  enable  us  to  desire.  If  they  are 
nsed  congregational ly,  if  the  Bible-woman  is  only  look- 
ed upon  as  another  curate,  and  if  her  superintendent 
must  be  necessarilij  tlie  clergyman  or  the  minister's 
wife,  then  that  is  a  very  limited  view  of  the  scope  of 
this  new  effort,  and  we  think  it  must  expect  a  limited 
blessinq:. 


292 


THE    MISsrXf;    LJNK. 


In  this  England  of  ours  we  live  so  much  in  classes 
and  in  strata  of  society,  as  observing'  Americnns  tell 
us,  that  we  have  hitherto  been  content  not  to  cnlaruc 
our  experiences,  or  to  look  beyond  our  own  horizon 
IJeforc  we  can  influence  the  sunken  masses  we  want 
fusion  in  the  great  crucible  of  Divine  Love. 


A  very  interesting  feature  of  this  undertaking  is, 
that  it  has  been  supported  during  the  two  years  of  its 
infancy  by  faith  and  prayer,  and  without  an  anxious 
thought.  What  God  had  done  for  "  Orphans"  he 
could  do  for  the  spread  of  His  Word,  when  he  would 
have  its  witness  carried  araoni»'  the  lowest  and  vilest 
poor  of  London.  The  work  is  His,  and  he  has  used 
apparently  weak  instruments,  that  all  the  glory  may 
be  given  to  hiir,«5elf.  He  has  found  tlio  women,  and 
pointed  out  the  willing  and  devoted  lady  superintend- 
ents, and  sent  the  funds  to  commence  each  mission, 
often  in  the  course  of  one  week.  The  minute  leadings 
of  his  providence  have  been  unmistakable,  and  the 
answers  to  prayer  innumerable.  The  machinery  i?*  so 
sim])lo  and  so  local  wherever  it  arises,  and  it  is  of 
such  importance  that  the  work  be  secret  and  silent, 
timt  there  is  no  necessity  to  clog  it  with  extra  appara- 
tus, or  to  spoil  it  with  platform  compliments  of  mnn's 
device. 


OUR   AiJENTS,    AND   THEIR  SUPPORT. 


293 


Nevertheless,  tlie  next  remark  that  our  friends  make 
is  this  :  "  Well,  then,  if  the  work  is  genuine  and  good, 
we  must  surely  extend  it.  Sliall  we  not  have  a  great 
society,  a  j^reat  Female  (.'ity  ^lission,  with  the  usual 
apparatus  for  collectin;;  money,  public  meetings,  com- 
mittees, secretaries,  and  reports?  Of  course  the  thing 
will  come  to  that  in  tlie  end  ;  for  when  the  novelty  of 
the  present  movement  is  worn  off.  and  tlie  voluntary 
subscriptions  cease,  how  is  it  to  bo  supported?"* 

To  this  we  answer  that  our  one  resolve  is,  never  to 
get  into  debt :  tliercfore,  if  the  supplies  cease,  the  work 
could  alwavs  be  transferred  to  those  who  will  take  it 
up,  according  to  tlio  rules  of  present  routine.  But  it 
is  a  comparatively  inexpensive  undertaking,  in  part 
self-paying,  according  to  its  primary  principles  ;  and 
by  the  general  sense  of  the  committee  of  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  after  much  and  careful  dis- 
cussion, it  is  pronounced  in  its  commencement  to  be 
trulv  Bible  work,  and.  as  such,  comes  within  their  le- 


h 

'i 


*  Amid  the  many  salutnrv  chaiifroa  which  might  follow  on  the  ponte- 
costal  outpouring  of  tho  Holy  Spirit  which  we  arc  beseeching  from 
heaven,  and  which  our  <  hrislian  brotliron  in  many  parts  of  the  worW 
are  alreadj'  receiving,  there  might  probably  be  numbered  a  holy  method 
in  our  benevolent  rtsorves  orincoujo  for  tho  work  of  the  Lord,  accord- 
ing to  the  scriptural  iiuiicatlons  given  in  the  Old  Testament.  This  wouki 
bring  enowjh  and  to  spare  into  tlu'  treasury  of  Him  whose  are  all  the 
silver  and  the  gold.  '•  H  >  shall  make  His  people  willing  in  the  daj'  of 
His  power."  See  ''(Jold  and  tho  (Jospol  ;  or,  Ulster  Prize  Essays  on 
diving  Away  m  Proportion  to  a  Waw'a  Income." 


294 


THE   MISSING    LINK. 


gitimate  province  o^ paid  labOr,  inspected  by  niembei-js 
of  their  own  body. 

For  three  days  a  week,  therefore,  the  female  colpor- 
ter  could  go  forth  as  from  tliem,  if  her  only  duty  were 
to  sell  Bibles  ;  but  such  is  the  Book,  and  such  are  the 
London  heathen,  that  woman's  civilization  work  must 
iiccessarily  follow  ;  and  to  us  it  needs  no  argument  to 
prove  that  for  all  "  the  Lord  wi^l  provide." 

It  is  necessary,  even  amid  difficulties,  we  tliink,  to 
keep  i\\Q  movement  in  full  allegiance  to  that  great 
and  blessed  association  for  the  spread  of  God's  Woi*d. 
The  social  clement  might  otherwise  rise  paramount, 
and  the  great  first  duty,  the  delivery  of  the  message 
from  God,  singly  and  alone,  on  wliich  he  has  showered 
his  blessing,  might  at  a  future  day  be  forgotten. 

Our  perpetual  increase  and  change  of  jtopulation 
will  make  it  a  long  time  before  London  is  fully  sup- 
})lied  witli  half-crown  Bibles,  m  good  type,  easily  read 
by  the  ignorant,  especially  by  small  instalments. 

Nevertheless,  in  proportion  as  the  women  are  multi- 
plied, and  do  their  work  vigorously,  a  less  portion  of 
their  labor  can  be  paid  by  the  Bible  Society,  and 
therefore  its  payments  must  be  on  a  sliding  scale. 
It  has  also  to  care  for  the  occupation  of  its  voluntary 
helpers. 

Those  who  are  employing  this  agency  have  recently 
obtained  the  valual)le  assistance  of  a   few  "  friends  in 


OUli    AGENTS,    AND    THEIH   SUPPORT. 


'19o 


council  *' — tlic  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  ;  tlio  Honorable 
Artliur  and  ^Irs.  Kiiinaird  ;  the  Rev.  Antlionv  Thor- 
old,  rector  of  St.  Giles's  ;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hamilton,  of 
the  Scotch  Cliurch  ;  and  the  Rev.  William  Arthur,  of 
rlie  Wesleyan  )jody  ;  11.  Hopley  White,  Esq.  ;  W. 
Coles,  Esq.  ;  and  J.  Hampden  Fordham,  Esq.,  the 
latter  gentlemen  being  members  of  the  parent  com- 
mittee of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 

These  friends  have  all  a  genuine  and  heart  intoi-est 
in  London  "  Female  Bible  and  Domestic  Missions." 
Tliev  will,  from  time  to  time,  meet  and  consult  with 
some  of  the  ladies  who  are  practically  engaged  in  the 
work.  The  accounts  of  money  received  and  expended 
will  be  submitted  to  their  cognizance  and  inspection, 
and  their  various  views  consulted  on  any  movement 
of  importance.  This  Council  of  Reference  will  verify 
the  business  details  in  the  public  eye. 

To  ourselves  the  utterances  of  liuman  life  brought 
to  us  by  the  researches  of  our  female  colporters  are  of 
intenser  interest  every  day.  That  timely  teaching  of 
a  temporal  character  should  be  intimately  connected 
with  the  Bible  is  not  an  element  that  these  poor  folk 
in  their  homes  seem  to  shrink  from.  Most  of  them 
acknowledge  the  Bible  to  be  a  good  book,  and  one 
that  ouglit  to  be  in  every  house  ;  but  tliey  know  very 
little  about  it.  They  have  heard  a  text  taken  from  it 
for  a  sermon  that  they  did  not  understand  ;  but  Bible 


i»i 


i 


296 


THE   MlSSrN(J    LIXK. 


stories,  well  selected,  and  explained  to  them  as  if  they 
were  earnestly  believed,  go  straight  to  their  hearts. 
The  story  of  the  Book,  as  a  whole,  will  all  be  ne^v, 
and  of  the  deepest  interest  to  the  mass  of  the  lowest 
orders  in  this  our  nineteenth  century. 

The  influence  that  shall  redeem  them  from  their  bad 
habits  must  be  a  resident  influence  ;  and  the  more 
nearly  it  is  allied  to  the  condition  and  sympathies  of 
its  objects  the  more  eifectual  is  its  aid.  "  Ladies" 
will  not  be  found  residing  in  St.  Giles's  and  the  Seven 
Dials  ;  or,  if  they  were,  they  would  find  the  dwellings 
inaccessible;  but  the  different  orders  of  intelligence 
belong  to  each  other  in  Christ's  church.  "  The  foot 
and  the  hand  cannot  say  to  the  eye  or  the  head,  We 
have  no  need  of  you  ;"  and  it  has  been  found  always 
that  union  is  strength.  May  the  two  henceforth  work 
lovingly  together  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  and  may 
He  vouchsafe  to  give  the  increase  I 


APPENDIX. 

[We  here  insert  two  or  three  papers  deemed  necessary  and  helpful 
in  the  information  of  tins  Bible  Agency,  which  friends  in  the 
country  are  at  liberty  to  reprint  and  modify  to  their  own  local 
circumstances,] 


LONDON  FEMALE  BIBLE  AND  DOMESTIC  MISSIONS. 

GENKRAL    RULES. 

1.  The  work  having  now  ..onsiderably  extended  itself  it  is 
Uiought  desirable  to  give  it  the  general  designation  of  ^Londom 
J^EMALE  Bible  and  Do.mkstic  Missions." 

2.  The  objects  of  these  Missions  are  twofold,  vi.,  to  supply  the 
very  poorest  of  the  population  with  copies  of  the  Holy  Seriptuivs 
and  also  to  improve  their  temporal  condition  by  teaching  them  to 
help  themse  ves  rather  than  look  to  others;  the  former  to  be  at- 
tamed  by  taking  payment  for  the  Bible  in  small  weeklv  instal- 
ment., and  the  latter  by  assisting  them  to  procure  better  food 
clothing,  and  beds  in  the  same  way.  ' 

3.  None  shall  be  employed  i^  this   Mission  but  women  of 
horoughly  respectable  and  Christian  character,  of  active  habits 

kindly  manners,  and  but  little  encumbered  with  family  care.        ' 

4.  The  Districts  shall  be  of  regulated  extent;  and  the  Bible- 
women  shall  reside  in  or  quite  near  their  respective  District, 
having  a  room  in  a  central  position  for  the  general  purposes  of 

he  Mission,  for  which  the  rent  will  be  paid  by  their  Superin- 
tendent.  ^ 

5.  Each  Bible-woman  shall  be  placed  under  the  careful  super- 
intendence of  a  Lady  who  may  be  found  willing  to  undertake  the 

13*  (297) 


!!* 


!IS 


298 


APPENDIX. 


work,  and  who  is  a  resident  on  the  district,  or  within  a  reasonable 
distance  from  it. 

().  The  Bible-woman  shall  present  a  Weekly  Report  of  her 
labors  to  the  Superintending  Lady,  who  will  receive  such  Report, 
pay  the  salary,  and  give  such  directions  as  the  local  circumstances 
may  require. 


INSTRUCTIONS  TO   THE  BIBLE-WOMAN. 

1.  Your  first  and  principal  work  is  to  ascertain  who  are  with- 
out the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  willing  to  purchase  at  a  cheap  rate. 

2.  Take  with  you  in  a  bag,  w  ith  which  you  will  be  provided, 
a  variety  of  Bibles  and  Testaments!,  and  should  any  of  the  parties 
you  visit  be  able  and  willing  to  pay  the  whole  price  at  once,  take 
it;  if  not,  offer  to  receive  payment  by  small  weekly  instalments, 
for  wIk'  h  you  will  regularly  call. 

;}.  Let  the  people  understand  that  you  are  not  supplying  them 
at  a  profit,  but,  in  many  instances,  at  a  loss  to  the  Bible  Society, 
and  that  the  good  people  who  employ  you  are  only  seeking  to 
l^romote  the  benefit  of  the  poor. 

4.  You  will  be  expected  to  devote  five  hours  every  day,  Sat- 
urdays excepted,  to  your  work,  for  which  you  will  receive  2s. 
per  day.  The  Bible  Work  is  to  be  done  by  itself,  and  the  Domestic 
Mission  Work  at  another  time.  You  will  follow  the  directions 
tiiat  will  be  given  you  as  to  the  locaUties  in  which  you  are  to 
labor  for  both  objects. 

5.  As  the  Bible  Work  leads  to  other  benevolent  schemes,  you 
will  be  directed  by  your  Superintendent  how  to  proceed  in  taking 
Kubscriptious  for  clothing  and  bedding,  also  inducing  the  poor  no 
longer  to  live  content  with  dirt,  rags,  and  discomfort.  You  will 
tlien  be  able  gradually  to  instruct  them  in  needlework,  cooking, 
and  cleanliness. 

(>.  It  will  be  expected  that  you  will  live  in  or  near  your  dis- 
trict, and  a  room  there  will  also  be  available  for  the  purposes  of 
the  Mission. 

7.     If  you  are  able,  it  is  desirable  that  you   should  keep  a 


APPENDIX. 


29!l 


Journal,  in  which  you  will  give  truo  statements  of  the  thinps  ynu 
meet  with. 

8.  You  will  present  to  your  Superintendent  a  Weekly  Report 
of  all  your  proceedings,  at  the  timo  and  place  appointed,  and 
according  to  a  form  with  which  you  will  he  furni-^hed. 

9.  The  lady  who  has  kindly  promised  to  superintend  your 
work  is 


of 


a 


SUGGESTIONS  TO  PROPOSED  SUPERINTENDENTS  OF 
A  FEMALE  BIBLE  AND  DOMESTIC  MISSION. 

It  seems  undesirable  that  a  Lady  should  undertake  this  work  if 
she  is  not  able  to  promise  a  fair  share  of  time  and  interest  to  its 
claims,  which,  though  at  first  very  simple,  are  sure  to  incri'asi'  in 
many  forms.  We  would  suggest  that  a  Lady  Superintendent  do 
not  offer  her  services  as  merely  honorary  or  intermitting:  she 
must  be  depended  upon  for  the  vigilant  performance  of  lier  own 
particular  duties.  No  bills  should  be  paid  by  the  Bible-wnmun, 
or  any  material  purchased  except  through  written  orders  from  her 
lady;  and  great  care  should  be  taken  in  selection  if  at  any  time 
a  deputy  is  left  in  charge. 

As  the  nature  of  the  Mission  is  undenominational,  and  it  need 
not  be  conducted  within  Parochical  boundaries — though  it  often 
may,  most  conveniently,  be  so  arranged — only  those  can  under- 
take its  general  guidance  in  any  neighborhood  who  ai'u  not  neces- 
sarily limited  by  such  considerations. 

It  appears  always  desirable  that  the  Superintendent  should  be- 
come a  member  of  the  Ladies'  BiVjle  Association  of  the  locality, 
and  should  herself  pay  in  monthly  to  their  funds  the  instalments 
received  by  the  Bible-woman  for  copies  of  the  Scriptures;  of 
course,  conferring  with  them  on  the  districts  in  whicii,  from  time 
to  time,  this  sub-agent  should  be  occupied  in  Bible  Work. 

Regularity  of  payments  to  the  Female  Missionary,  with  kindly, 
and  often  helpful  inspection  of  tlie  varied  accounts  she  renders, 
should  be  considered  a  duty  to  bo  fulfilled  at  U'ast  weekly,  and  at 
first  even  oftener.  Her  payment  from  Bible  Funds  nuist  bo  ex- 
actly proportioned  to  her  purely  Bible  Work,  at  the  rate  of  2."-. 


V 


t 

i 
1 


aoo 


APPENDIX. 


for  five  hours.  Her  salary  tor  all  other  service  will  proceed  from 
Funds  set  apart  for  Domestic  purposes. 

It  is  very  important  for  the  Superintendent  to  understand  the 
due  administration  of  these  respective  funds.  The  Bible-woman 
may  be  employed  for  two,  three,  four,  or  five  days,  only  in  sell- 
ing Bibles,  according  to  the  needs  of  the  particular  district,  and 
for  this  ONLY  the  Bible  Society  can  pay  her.  She  must  not  do 
any  other  work  at  the  same  time.  If  the  people  offer  to  sul)seril)c 
for  clothing  and  beds,  she  will  say,  "  I  only  do  one  thing  at  a 
time,"  and  "  the  right  thing  first.  I  bring  you  now  the  Message 
from  God.  I  shall  be  glad  also  to  provide  you  with  clothing,  &e., 
at  the  lowest  prices,  and  for  this  you  can  pay  as  you  do  for  the 
Bibles,  in  small  sums  weekly ;  but  you  must  oomk  to  me  to  do 
this,  at  a  certain  hour,  in  my  Mission-room."'  Tliere  would  be 
great  evil  in  mixing  the  two  departments  of  labor;  the  Bible 
Society  would  never  know  what  they  paid  for,  and  mistakes 
would  be  made  in  the  accounts ;  while  a  particular  benefit  to  be 
gained,  by  assembhng  the  Women  at  a  given  hour  at  one  place, 
would  be  lost  likewise. 

Although  it  is  found  best  that  each  Bible-woman  should  be 
made  responsible  to  one  Lady,  rather  tlian  to  a  Committee,  still, 
as  suitable  individuals  may  willingly  come  forward,  saying,  "What 
can  we  do  to  help  you  ?"  it  should  be  tlie  aim  of  the  Lady  Super- 
intendent to  enlist  their  various  activities  in  the  regulation  of 
special  departments,  such  as  weekly  visiting  of  the  clothing  and 
bedding  club — reading  or  speaking  to  the  subscribers  at  mending 
or  tea  parties — purchase  of  clothing  materials — fixing  and  giving 
out  of  needlework — arrangements  concerning  bags  of  linen — soup 
making — timely  loans — visitation  of  special  cases,  &c.,  &c.  All 
these  things  gradually  form  a  part  of  tlie  Female  Bible  and  Do- 
mestic Mission  and  when  money  may  have  to  be  expended, 
account  must,  of  course,  be  rendered  by  each  Lady  to  the  Super- 
intendent. 

Without  interfering  with  any  existing  organizations,  this  Mis- 
sion is  intended  to  carry  down  among  the  Neglected  Outcasts  of 
society  the  different  measures  for  their  benefit,  which  have  long 
been  familiar  to  the  Decent  Poor.     The  lowest  classes  have  said 


J 


APPENDIX. 


301 


that  "  nobody  cared  for  them,"  a  complaint  wliich  it  is  the  aim  of 
this  Mission  to  obviate. 

Each  Superintendent  will  see  the  im|)ortance  of  securing  funds 
for  the  temporal  pm-poses  of  Ker  particular  Mission.  The  Bible 
Society  commences  and  pays  for  the  Bible  Work,  and,  with  ten 
or  twenty  pounds  besides,  a  good  beginning  may  be  made ;  while 
the  various  elements  of  the  undertaking  are  intended  to  be  self- 
paying  as  far  as  possible.  If  several  Female  Missionaries  are 
engaged  for  an  extended  district,  a  quarterly  conference  of  their 
Superintendents  is  recommended,  to  secure  unity  of  design,  with 
independence  in  details. 

Frequent  reading  of  the  Scriptures  and  prayer  with  the  Bible- 
woman  will  be  found  her  most  effectual  preparation  lor  the  work 
she  undertakes.  Her  great  power  is  in  apt  quotation ;  and  the 
Lord  is  proving  that  he  blesses  His  own  Word  day  by  day.  "  The 
entrance  of  Thy  word  giveth  light;  it  giveth  understanding  to 
the  simple." 


of 
and 
ling 

ing 
soup 

All 
Do- 
ded, 
per- 


long 
«aid 


COOKERY  FOR  ST.  GILES'S. 

CHEAP  SOUP,  AND  VERY  NOURISHING. 

Two  ounces  of  dripping Id. 

Half  a  pound  of  solid  meat,  at  4d.  per  lb.  (cut  into  dice 
one  inch  square) 2d. 

Quarter  of  a  pound  of  onions,  sliced  thin ;  quarter  of  a 
pound  of  turnip,  cut  into  small  dice;  two  ounces  of 
leeks  (green  tops  will  do),  and  three  ounces  of  celery, 
chopped  small Id. 

Half  a  pound  of  rice  or  pearl  barley      .        .        .        .         Id. 

Three  ounces  of  salt,  and  a  quarter  of  an  ounce  of 
brown  sugar Jd. 

Fuel  to  make  it Jd. 

Six  quarts  of  water.  

'od. 

How  TO  MAKE  IT. — Take  an  iron  saucepan  (a  tin  one  will  not 
do);  put  into  it,  over  the  fire,  your  meat  cut  small,  with  two 
ounces  of  dripping  and  a  quarter  of  an  ounce  of  brown  sugar ; 


\ 


302 


APPENDIX. 


Bhrod  in  your  onions,  and  stir  with  a  wooden  or  iron  spoon  till 
fried  lightly  brown;  have  ready  washed  and  sliced  your  turnipsi 
celery,  and  leeks,  add  them  to  the  rest  over  the  lire,  and  stir  about 
for  ten  minutes.  Now  add  one  quart  of  cold  water,  and  the  half 
pound  of  barley  or  rice,  and  mix  all  well  together.  Then  add  five 
quarts  of  hot  water,  made  ready  in  the  kettle,  season  with  your 
salt,  stir  occasionally  till  boiling,  and  then  let  simmer  on  the  hob 
for  three  hours,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the  rice  or  barley  will 
be  tender. 

This  soup  will  keep  two  or  three  d:.y8  if  poured  into  a  flat  pan, 
but  it  is  best  made  every  other  day.  You  must  stir  till  nearly 
cold  when  you  take  it  off  the  fire,  which  \,ill  prevent  its  ferment- 
ing. A  little  bread  or  biscuit  eaten  with  it  makes  a  supporting 
meal,  much  better  than  a  cup  of  tea,  and  would  go  far  to  prevent 
the  craving  for  gin. 


CHEAP  BEDS  FOR  THE  POOR. 

Ticking  for  Beds  may  be  bought  (in  quantities  of  not  lesa 
than  100  yards)  at  4d.  a  yard.  Eight  yards  make  a  tick,  and 
30  lbs.  of  flock  fill  it.  The  flock  is  9s.  3d.  per  cwt.  and  upwards. 
The  bed  is  sold  at  six  shillings,  and  paid  for  before  receipt  by 
sixpenny  or  shilling  instalments. 


NOTICE  TO  SUBSCRIBERS. 

Friends  wishing  to  subscribe  to  these  Missions  may  send  Post- 
office  orders  to  Mrs.  Ranyard,  13  Hunter  street,  Brunswick- 
square,  London,  who  is  their  Honorary  Secretary.  The  orders 
should  be  made  out  for  the  office  ir  'Ireat  Coram  street,  Bruns- 
wick-square, and  in  the  Christian  name  of  "  Ellen."  The  Hon. 
A.  Kinnaird,  M.  P.,  will  also  receive  subscriptions,  as  Treasurer, 
for  the  General  Fund,  addressed  to  the  Bank  of  Messrs.  Ransom 
and  Co.,  No.  1  Pall  Mall  East. 

The  "Book  and  its  Missions"  may  be  had  of  W.  Kent  &  Co., 
21  Paternoster  Row,  and  by  order  of  all  booksellers.  Price  3d., 
monthly. 


